Page 86 of Imperfect Match (Imperfect Match 1)
“It can also be healed, darling. But it won’t heal itself.
“What would you like me to do, Mother? Reid walked out.”
She walks over, kicking the tub of ice cream, and scoffs. “So you’re giving up?”
“Instead of what? Begging? Am I supposed to keep stabbing my own heart for fun?”
Mom falls quiet, taking in the scene around her and then looks at me. “Perhaps you’re right, Willow. Perhaps I was the one who was mistaken.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” she says, her voice softening, “maybe I was wrong when I matched you with Reid. I thought I saw something there, but … perhaps it wasn’t real.”
Now it’s my turn to be shocked. “Matched me with Reid? But you had nothing to do with …”
Oh my God, she did. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. My mother orchestrated t
he entire thing. Maybe it wasn’t on purpose at first, but there she was, the puppeteer in our little show. She made me have to be the one to match him, knowing there were feelings we were ignoring.
“What were you saying?”
“How? Why? What the hell were you thinking?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Mom folds her hands in front of her. “I was thinking that you both had very deep feelings for each other and that together, you’d both get what you wanted, but I was wrong, Willow. I’m very sorry.”
“What exactly did you think we both wanted?”
“Well, you wanted a family, and whether Reid knows it or not, so does he. The visions are the same even if the pathways were different. He didn’t know what love looked like, and you, my sweet girl …” Her hand cups my cheek. “You’re practically a never-ending supply of unconditional love. You wanted a husband and kids, and I hoped you and Reid would see the happy future you could give each other. But he just wasn’t ready for it, and I don’t know that he ever will be. There’s a very deep hurt inside of him. Until he’s ready to heal it, he’ll never be able to accept love.”
A tear falls down my cheek. “And what do I do? How do I force him to accept love?”
“You can’t. That’s something he has to figure out on his own.”
“What if he never does?”
“Then you move on.” She takes my hand. “Is a family still what you want? Even if it means you have to give up Reid?”
“Yes.” The word slips from my lips as another tear slips from my eye.
I want to move forward in my life. I’ll never love another man like I love Reid. There won’t be a replacement for him. No one will ever be able to live in his shadow, and that’s the one thing I have to come to terms with. He will always be my great love. I just wasn’t his.
“Then, you have to let him go and not let losing him cost you anything else.”
“You mean the baby,” I say.
“I mean that if you gave him up because you were ready to have a child, then why would you put that off? Unless it’s not what you want anymore, but that’s something only you can decide.” My mother gets to her feet as the words make my chest tight. “I came to bring you this.”
She hands me a piece of paper folded in half. I open it up and it’s a message from the clinic to call them and on the bottom is Aspen’s chicken scratch with the number 4347.
I look up at my mom who gives me a sad smile. She leans in and kisses my cheek. “Nothing in life is perfect, sweetheart. It’s all a matter of priorities and timing. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow ... take today and clean yourself and your apartment. Don’t let your dreams die over a broken heart.”
Easy for her to say, she’s never suffered through one like this. “It just hurts so much.”
“I know, and I hate that you’re in pain. But I would also hate to see you let your dream opportunity pass you by ...”
I don’t want my dream chance to pass me by either. My cycle is due in a week, and I would be able to start after that. But I have to make a choice. “I don’t want losing him to be for nothing. I know that I want this baby, and clearly Reid isn’t going to be the man to give it to me. But I’m scared.”
“No matter what you choose, Willow, I’ll be here.”
