“Of course he did, Hallie. Do you think you were special and he saved all his best stuff just for you?” She was being harsh and she knew it. “He drew you pictures, too, right? Little drawings of your daily life? He sent articles and photos that would mean something to you, to only you, right? And only he knew you that well.”

“Yes.” Hallie’s mouth shaped the word, but Colleen didn’t hear her voice at all.

“Me, too, Hallie. Me. Too. And he was doing all of this with you while I was engaged to him? You never thought to tell me?”

“At first I believed he was just trying to be a good brother-in-law. You know, get to know the little sister. Then I realized that I was waiting for his next e-mail or call or for him to stop by the house to see you. I realized I wanted to hear from him. I was falling in love with him. So I told him I couldn’t talk to him anymore. I told him.” Hallie stared over Colleen’s shoulder as if Walter was even now standing behind her sister.

“Really? You told him you didn’t want to talk anymore, but you could play tongue hockey with him on my wedding day?”

Hallie’s gaze snapped back to Colleen. “That’s so gross.”

Colleen bit her lip in an attempt to keep from laughing. “I have no idea where that came from. Sorry.”

“Lena, I’ve been carrying this around and although you don’t care anymore, and you don’t love me anymore, I need to tell you. I’ve been trying and trying to tell you. For years I’ve been trying to tell you, and you’ve been cruel and cold.”

“Just keep going.”

Hallie closed her eyes; she couldn’t look at Colleen while she finished her tale. “So I did tell him that we had to quit talking, that I could never betray you, but the truth is, I couldn’t stop. It was like a sickness. I fell in love with him so quickly and yet I loved you with all my heart. I was devastated. I couldn’t stand to break your heart. I would have rather broken my own.”

“Really?” Colleen’s tone was sarcastic, biting.

“Yes, really. Walter and I talked about it for hours.”

“While I was fretting over bridesmaids’ dresses and chocolate cake with buttercream icing, you were talking to my fiancé about how he needed to stay with me even though he loved you? My God, this story just gets worse.” The buried devastation began to rise like a tide. Her hands tingled; her stomach roiled. The truth didn’t always need to be told, did it?

“No. It wasn’t like that. He did love you—a lot. We just found this deep connection and we didn’t know what to do with it.”