The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (118 page)

“
Beck. Stay with me, man. What
’
s going on? Why is it too late?
”

“
She
’
s with Roman, now,
”
I mutter.

“
Bullshit,
”
he exclaims without a second
’
s hesitation.
“
That can
’
t be true.
”

“
Well, unless my eyes are lying to me, I saw her kiss him the night before last.
”

Silence fills the space between us and my heart sinks a little more. As ridiculous as it might seem, it would have been nice for him to prove me wrong and I
’
m disappointed that he can
’
t.

“
I still don
’
t buy it,
”
he insists.
“
If she was with Roman, Ave would know. Not only would she know, but she
’
d be pissed. Not only would she be pissed, but
I
would know that she was pissed, thereby, I would know that Addie was with Roman and none of the above is true.
”

“
Gray, I saw them kiss with my own eyes,
”
I argue.

“
One
kiss does not mean that they
’
re a couple. Besides, do you really think Addie would do that to you? Start dating someone else without telling you? I don
’
t.
”
I have to admit, he makes a good point
—
a
couple
good points. Nevertheless, I can
’
t shake the feeling that she
’
s not mine anymore.
“
Beck, it
’
s not over until you say it
’
s over.
”

“
Apparently, I already did that.
”

“
No, you didn
’
t.
”
He shakes his head and chances a quick glance my way.
“
Look
—
if she and Roman aren
’
t a couple, which I don
’
t think they are, you still have a chance.
”

“
Do you know how crazy that sounds?
”
I ask, interrupting him before he can continue.
“
Five months ago, she wanted to
marry me
and now I might
still have a chance?
”
I scoff, appalled at how ridiculous my life has become.

“
Dude, you
’
ve got to snap out of it. It doesn
’
t matter
how
crazy it sounds. Seems to me, if you want her back, you have to fight for her.
”

“
Gray
…”
I pause, thinking back on that kiss.
I knew Roman liked her.
Perhaps it was naive of me to believe that someone who looks like him would have any trouble getting what he wanted
.
I just never imagined Addie would fall under his spell.
“
What if she doesn
’
t want me anymore?
”

“
You
’
ve got to give her the choice, man.
”
He absentmindedly shakes his head as he reaches over and fidgets with the fuzzy dice that hang from his rearview mirror.
“
I
’
m in love with Avery. That girl is my world
—
I understand how you feel about Addie. Do you want to know
how
that happened?
”

I shrug, confused as to where he
’
s going with this.
“
Ave is great. I
’
m sure it wasn
’
t hard to fall in love with her after the two of you got together.
”

“
Exactly
—
after
we got together. We never would have gotten together if it wasn
’
t for you. Do you remember what you said to me? It was a couple days after you and Addie split. Do you remember?
”
I shake my head in response.
“
You told me that she wanted me in spite of all the other guys that would probably be better for her. That day, I just decided, she should have a choice; if she wanted to choose me, then I wasn
’
t going to stop her.

“
Maybe Addie needs to be reminded that
you
are a choice. You might think it
’
s obvious, but maybe it isn
’
t anymore. Like I said, it
’
s not over until you say it
’
s over
—
until you stand up and fight for her, until you give her the choice of a life spent with you or a life spent with someone else, it
’
s not over.
”

“
Gray
—
what if she doesn
’
t chose me?
”

“
Then you move on. I know you don
’
t want to hear that, but if she doesn
’
t choose you, she
’
s not who you fell in love with, anyway.
”

He
’
s right. I don't want to hear that. But what he says is also true and I
need
to hear it.

This whole time, I thought I was still holding onto her. When I stopped asking why, I felt like I had let go of everything
except
for her. I couldn
’
t stand the thought of letting her go. Now it seems like I have to. I have to let her go and then prepare myself for battle. I have to make her see that she should choose me. I
’
ve got to get her back.
 

Beckham has been acting strange lately. I can
’
t really explain it, I just feel it, and I
’
m not sure what to think about it. It
’
s almost as if every time we
’
re in the same room, he
’
s too distracted to be himself.
Maybe it
’
s school related. He still hasn
’
t heard back from either Stanford or Baylor.
Whatever it is, he
’
s brought it with him to Steamboat. I can
’
t help but think, as he and Grayson climb out of the front seat, and Ave, Sarah, and I step out of the back, that whatever has got him so preoccupied might work in my favor. I
’
m not entirely sure
what
I was thinking when I thought it would be a good idea to go out of town with both Roman
and
Beckham at the same time and in the same place, but here I am!

“
Holy snicker-doodles, this is not a house,
”
gasps Avery.
“
This
is a mansion.
”

She
’
s not wrong. The stone faced structure in front of us is like the size of
five
houses. Five
two
story houses with lots of windows and a beautiful wrap-around porch. If the outside is any indication of what we can expect on the inside, then I
’
m sure we
’
re in for a luxurious stay.
And I was worried that there wouldn
’
t be enough space for all of us? Yeah right.

“
Hey, Ave,
”
Claire yells from outside her passenger side window as she and Jackson pull up behind us.
“
I don
’
t think you
’
re going to have to worry about sleeping on the floor.
”

“
Who said you were going to have to sleep on the floor?
”
asks Daphne as she, Roman, and Trevor come to join our group. Avery
’
s blush gives her away and we all laugh as Gray wraps his arms around her and pulls her back to his front as he kisses one of her rosy cheeks.

“
Okay, guys,
”
says Logan as she pulls her phone away from her ear and joins us.
“
I
’
m guessing everyone is probably hungry after the drive. I was thinking first, we could get out of the freezing cold, then I could give you all a quick tour, we can do room assignments, and then we can figure out something to eat.
”

I
’
m momentarily impressed with the blonde haired, green eyed, snow bunny that
’
s doling out instructions. Considering the house, the town, and the weather, I
’
m sure this weekend will turn out to be nothing short of wonderful. We
’
re in a winter wonderland. Nevertheless, she
’
s still not my favorite person, which is another reason why this trip might have been a crazy idea; but what was I supposed to do? Stay home all by myself while all of my friends spent a weekend in the mountains?

I don
’
t think so.

“
Shelter and food both sound good to me,
”
says Trevor.
“
Roman, help me with bags?
”

Roman is quick to respond and Beck, Gray, and Jack follow suit, insisting that the rest of us go ahead and get out of the cold. We don
’
t argue, as the sun is long gone and the temperature is below freezing. As soon as we enter the house, my suspicions are confirmed about the luxurious interior. It
’
s both modern and yet rustic-chic. Each living room
—
at least, the
three
on the main level
—
is filled with plush cream or tan colored couches and dark chestnut leather chairs with warm accent colored throw pillows and blankets that are probably perfect for cuddling under when the fireplaces are lit.