The Wilderness (Lavender Shores Book 8) by Rosalind Abel

Author:Rosalind Abel [Abel, Rosalind]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wings of Ink Publications, LLC
Published: 2018-09-11T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Andre

The man I saw sitting with the Epstein family at the funeral wasn’t Will Epstein. While his gaze was focused on the patriarch’s casket, I studied him. Will Epstein had always been a touch too fancy for Lavender Shores. Though the town had money and everything was classically tasteful and lavish, it also had a casual feel. But, never to Will Epstein. Even through our years of mutual grief and bonding over heartbreak and loss, that aspect of him never wavered. Not for a moment. Will was always picture-perfect. Even if he’d had too much to drink, every hair was in place, his chiseled jaw was always freshly shaven smooth, and his suits, so out of place in Lavender Shores, were always exquisite and expensive.

The doppelgänger in Will’s place had it almost right. Almost. The suit was still designer and wrinkle free, but the black tie’s knot was slightly loose. The set of his shoulders retained perfect posture, but the jut of his chin lacked the arrogant tilt. And that jaw? Chiseled as ever, but the several days’ growth of beard transformed it from elegant to rugged. His dark blond hair which was normally slicked back and combed with military precision was longer and looked as if he’d merely run his fingers through it.

Throughout the funeral, and then at the graveside, I couldn’t keep from inspecting him. Nor could I keep my thoughts silent—the ones in my head and my heart. I’d missed my friend over the past year. That hadn’t been a secret, the loss of him had compounded and melded with the loss in my past, leaving me nearly devastated once more, to a level I struggled to understand. I’d begun to realize the hole in my heart was mostly Will-shaped, that his abrupt departure had merely ripped open wounds that had never truly healed to begin with. And seeing him again only confirmed that realization. I’d not fully been aware, but some part of me hadn’t quite trusted that I was feeling what the loss of Will indicated I was feeling. Well… that part had been wrong. Utterly wrong.

I sent Katniss on with Adrian and Harrison, claiming I wanted to pay my respects, and then waited by the edge of the graveyard for Will to be alone. He would see me, he would feel me, I had no doubt of that. And, sure enough, he did.

What I hadn’t expected occurred when he walked away from Nick and headed my direction. The half lie I had been telling myself for the past year became crystal clear.

Sure, Will had become my friend, my dearest friend. But, he’d been more. So much more than I’d realized. More than I’d been willing to fully admit, even to myself. Though I’d felt his absence like a physical presence nearly every moment, it wasn’t until right then that I realized why.

Will hadn’t just been a friend. Though we’d never dated, never kissed, never touched in that way, he’d become my partner, my other half.

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