Page 44 of Mountain Bean Dream
I gathered our dishes and dropped them in the bin, wishing everyone a nice day. Heading out, I rounded the corner and popped into Tags, the local grocer. If Sage was coming over tomorrow, I wanted to put together a little something for her; some kind of treat that she wouldn’t get at the Coffee Loft.
Perusing the aisles, I thought a nice charcuterie board would work and gathered the supplies. As I was heading to the cash register, a voice called out.
I hadn’t expected to run into Derek.
“Molly!” His voice cut through the quiet hum of the store, and I froze.
I turned slowly, keeping my face calm, but my stomach did an involuntary flip. Derek stood a few paces away, his shirt crisp, tie neatly knotted. The whole look screamedput-together, the kind of guy who seemed to have everything in control. The kind of guy I used to think I wanted.
“Hey, Derek,” I said, forcing a smile that felt too thin. My hands felt clammy as I shifted the cart to the side, creating distance. A space between us I suddenly needed more than I expected.
He stepped closer, his gaze scanning my cart like it was an open book. “Looks like a fun night planned,” he commented, raising an eyebrow, his voice light but his eyes sharp.
I tried to shrug it off. “Yeah. Just the two of us sharing some meats, cheese, and crackers.” I added a small laugh, but it barely registered in the air between us.
Derek leaned in slightly, his body language pushing. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d been seeing someone else all along?”
The question hit harder than it should’ve. Blood rushed to my face, and my breath caught in my chest.
Deflecting, I gave him my full attention. “Why didn’t you tell me you were planning on moving?”
“I’d put in for that position before I met you,” he explained, his words clipped, as if rehearsed. “And then a week ago, I got the call. And I said yes... on some conditions.”
My face hardened as I listened.Conditions.A word that hung in the air like a bad taste in my mouth. He was alwayssetting up conditions, making sure everything fit his mold.
“And she didn’t accept those?” I asked, the words sharp as they left my mouth.
He didn’t flinch, just shook his head, and like a piece of warmed spaghetti, he softened. “No. She rejected all but two.”
The smugness in his tone grated against me like he was trying to make me feel sorry for him. I shook my head, trying to hold my ground. “Not surprising,” I muttered. “You’re pretty rigid about what you want in life.”
The flicker of annoyance on his face flashed for a breath, but he didn’t react, just leaned in a little closer, like he wasn’t quite done.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you,” I said, though the words didn’t feel like they belonged. I meant it, but it felt hollow.
His posture softened just enough that I thought, for a moment, he might have been genuinely apologetic. But then he spoke again, and I realized how quickly he could slip into his old pattern.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said, and it almost sounded sincere. “The whole thing was callous. I was callous. I should’ve respected you enough to have told you what was going on.”
I held my ground, biting back the urge to shout at him that he had hurt me, that he had broken something in me, and that I had no intention of letting him stitch it back up on his terms.
“When were you going to tell me?” I asked, my voice shaking slightly with frustration.
Derek shrugged, his movement almost dismissive. “I don’t know,” he said casually, as if it didn’t matter. “I’m not good at ending things. I don’t like hurting people’s feelings.”
I took a deep breath, trying to control the rise of anger bubbling under my ribs. “How much longer would you have strung me along if she’d accepted your demands?” I couldn’thelp myself. The word “demands” slipped out sharper than I intended, but I was past caring.
His stance shifted slightly. He was no longer towering over me. He didn’t flinch or apologize. Instead, he glanced over my shoulder, avoiding my eyes. “Conditions,” he corrected. “Not demands. And I don’t know.”
“Were you ever going to tell me about Mr. Strong and Silent?” He cocked a brow. “How long have you two been together, for real?”
I sucked on my top lip and mulled over my answer. “It doesn’t matter. He’s none of your concern. I’m none of it either.”
“He’s good, I’ll give him that.” He straightened, and swiped down his arms, trying to remove the wrinkles from the crook of his arm. “To an outsider, he portrays the part well. Kind, caring, comforting.”
I stood there, reminding myself to not let my jaw drop open and blow the whole thing apart.
As Derek leaned in, his words coiled tightly around me like invisible strings. I realized, for the first time, how often he’d made me feel this way—tangled up, unsure, always second-guessing myself. “C’mon, Molly. I’ve been around enough people to be able to read the room and judge relationships in a heartbeat.” His voice dropped, low and dangerous. “There’s no chemistry between you two. Everyone can see it’s an act. But the biggest question is why? What’s the deal? Did you truly need to find someone to replace the void left in my absence?”