Silver Screen Romance (Book 3)

18. Don't know what you're expecting cause you look me in the eye...

Carey's POV

"What do you want to do here, Mands?" I asked her walking out to my truck.

"I don't want to lose you Carey. I do love you. I know you don't believe me, but I love both of you." She started to tear up.

I shook my head. "I don't know what to do with that Mandy."

She wrapped her arms around me. "I want you to trust me, trust that my love for you is real. It might not all be yours right now, but I want you to believe that I am trying here. I don't want to love Brian."

I sighed. "I don't know why I keep putting myself in this situation. I keep saying I am going to walk away, but I am in love with you and I always will be."

She smiled. "Let's go inside. We can get through this Carey, I know we can."

I took her hand and we walked into the backyard. Robin immediately ran up to us. "Uncle Carey!" I picked her up and swung her around.

She led me and Mandy to the swing set and I decided to stick around and see how the evening would play out.

Matt's POV

I watched how Mandy and Carey were together with Robin. I felt like my heart was breaking in two. I wanted that life with her, but it didn't matter how much I wanted it because I would never be able to have it.

"God I hate seeing them together." Brian said sitting next to me and handing me a beer.

"Yup." I agreed.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why does it bother you?"

"Because he's not her happiness and to be honest you aren't either." I got up, set the unopened beer next to him and went to sit with Jimmy and Leana.

She put her arm around me. "You alright?"

I shook my head. "No, that should be me."

She smiled sympathetically. "Although we would love for that to happen, you know it's impossible, she loves Brian, always has."

I huffed at the same time as Jimmy. Leana turned to him, "What are you huffing about?"

"I don't think that Mandy loves Brian anymore." He said.

I raised my head, hopeful. "What? Did she say something to you?"

He shook his head. "No. I just think that she is infatuated with him, the idea of loving him is easy to her. She has always been afraid of commitment and I think the three of us know that better than anyone. She wants what she knows won't work out or is impossible. That's why you and her won't work, why she'll never accept you. You are stable, you know her the best, you know every single one of her faults, ones I bet Alisha didn't even know about. You are the perfect choice Shads. And that's what sucks about all of this. Truthfully, I believe that if Val wasn't in the picture, and don't get me wrong on this one, I love Val, but if she wasn't part of your life I think you and Mandy would've ended up together, instead of her and Brian. I always thought she was perfect for you, but there's certain things that can never be said out loud and this is one of them."

I stared at him wide-eyed. Speechless.

Suddenly Mandy ran over and sat on my lap. "What are you guys talking about?"

I looked around for Carey, but he was nowhere in sight.

I laughed playing off the awkwardness of this situation. "Stuff."

She stuck her tongue out at me. And I could see Jimmy and Leana's mischievous smiles out of the corner of my eye.

No one ever questioned when she acted like this with me, I didn't either, we were best friends, but right now I didn't want to just be her best friend, I wanted to be the love of her life.