“Owen, honey. Are you still in love with Owen?”
“Oh. No. I care about him. I feel awful about him being sick, and I feel somehow responsible for helping him.”
“And in doing so, you’re losing the man you do love.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “Jason.”
Her mother grabbed her hand. “Yes. So you need to figure out how to handle this. You’re not responsible for Owen anymore. He freed you from that responsibility when he broke up with you.”
“But, Mom, he broke up with me so I wouldn’t feel responsible for him. What if he still loves me?”
“Then you need to have an honest conversation with him, and tell him that you’re in love with someone else now.”
She shuddered in a sob. “How can I do that? How can I break his heart like that when he’s so sick?”
Her mother smoothed her hand down her back. “I don’t know. But even if I was sick, I’d want the person I cared about to be honest with me.”
She closed her eyes, realizing her mother was right. She owed Owen the truth. And she owed Jason the truth.
It was time to suck it up and stop trying to be everything to everyone. She couldn’t do that anymore.
“Thanks, Mom.” She threw her arms around her mother and hugged her tight. “I needed this.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
After her mother left her room, she cleaned up her face, fixed her makeup, then headed out. She picked up chicken salad sandwiches and some soup for dinner for Owen and her tonight, and thought about what she was going to say to him on the way over.
By the time she arrived at Owen’s apartment, she still had no idea. She supposed she’d just have to wing it.
Owen smiled as he opened the door. “Hey there.”
She leaned in to give him a quick hug. “Hi. How are you feeling?”
“Pretty great this week.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I brought dinner.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” He led her into the kitchen. “I was actually thinking we’d go out.”
“Really? Are you feeling up to that?”
“Yeah. I can leave the house, you know.”
“Of course. I can put this all in the fridge.”
“Great. Then I’ll have food to eat tomorrow and Tuesday when I don’t feel like cooking.”
“Aww. You know I’d bring you food then, too.”
“My mom will be over. She hovers.”
Erin laughed. “She loves you.”
“Yeah, she does.”
They ended up going out to eat at Hidalgo’s Mexican restaurant since Owen was craving carne asada. His appetite was definitely perky. He even finished off Erin’s chimichanga.
“It’s good to see you more like yourself.”
“Once I finish treatment, I’ll be all like myself.”
She smiled. “I like this positive attitude.”
He shrugged. “I have to believe I’ll beat this. Plus, my doctors all tell me I have a ninety-six percent chance. I like those odds.”
“They’re pretty great odds, Owen.”
She didn’t want to be a downer when he was feeling so upbeat, plus they were in a public place, so now wasn’t the time to talk to him about her feelings. They could wait.
After dinner they took a walk in the park by the lake. A rainstorm had hit earlier and despite it being humid, it was at least a bit cooler. Plus, there was a nice breeze, making it feel wonderful, especially since the sun had gone down. And she knew exercise was good for Owen, even if it was in the heat of summer.
“Let’s take a seat here,” Owen said, motioning to a bench that looked out over the water.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Owen shifted to face her, picking up her hand in his.
“Erin, I need to talk to you about something serious.”
Uh-oh. “Okay.”
“I don’t really know how to say this without just coming out and saying it so it’s clear. I don’t need you to babysit me.”
She blinked, then frowned. “What? That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Yeah, it is. I don’t know if you feel some kind of misplaced guilt or whatever, but honestly? I’ve got this. I’m going to be okay. And nothing about what happened to me has anything to do with you. You’re not responsible for me.”
It took a minute for the words to sink in, but when they did, she said, “Okay. So you don’t want me to come around anymore?”
“No, I don’t. It’s not good for either of us, and it’s definitely not good for your relationship with Jason.”
She frowned. “What does this have to do with Jason?”
“He loves you.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “He told you that?”
“He tried not to. But it’s kind of obvious. He’s got it bad. Hell, he loved you even before you and I started dating.”
Erin held up her hand. “Wait. What?”
Owen shrugged. “I kind of knew he wanted you. And I stepped in. Not because of some competition thing, but because I wanted to go out with you. He’s just more of a gentleman than I am and he backed off.”
She didn’t know. Even then, she didn’t know. She was such an idiot. “Owen. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You and I both know we were over before the wedding, we just didn’t see the signs. We weren’t meant to be. And this thing you’re doing with me right now? Coming over to be with me, to take care of me? I appreciate it and all, but I’ve got this.”
“You know I don’t mind. I’m happy to help you.”
“I know. You and Jason and Clay and all my friends have been awesome, and I’ll never be able to repay the kindness. But the next time you come to my house? It had better be with Jason.”
She sighed, realizing how much she’d screwed this up. “I’ve kind of ignored him lately, wanting to be here for you. I’m sure he thinks . . . oh, God, I don’t even know what he thinks. Probably that I don’t care about him anymore.”
“Then go fix it. He loves you, Erin. The forever kind of love. And I can guarantee you that he’s not
