Savior Complex: A Small Town Love Triangle Romance

“What are you saying?”

The light turns green, but he doesn’t move. His eyes remain on me, and I force myself not to look away. At first, I am waiting for him to answer. But then, slowly, I feel it again. That spark of electricity that flows from him to me, and back to him again. That feeling that this is so much more than what’s on that paper in my purse. He’s the one. Every cell in my body knows it to be true.

“Nina, I—”

The car behind us honks, and we both jump in surprise. He swears under his breath, then turns to the road, driving through the intersection.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I just wish that—” He cuts himself off, and I see the way his jaw is flexing. “If things had been different…” He pauses again, and I groan in frustration.

“Just say it, Brayden. Give me something to understand what’s happening here.”

“What’s happening is there’s the right path, and there’s the path that makes us happy, and sometimes, they’re not the same thing, but they could be with a bit of time. I’m saying, that if our timing had been different, it could have been us. And I know that’s so unfair of me to say because there’s not an us, and there never will be. So even telling you that is cruel, but I’m engaged to your cousin, and that’s not going to change.”

“So why are you trying to get me to move her into my house? Is it because my attraction to you isn’t enough? You need to torture me too?”

He’s quiet for a moment, his eyes focused on the road ahead. Then he clenches that beautiful jaw of his, his eyes narrowing.

“Fuck,” he spits out, his hand hitting the wheel. “I shouldn’t be asking you at all. The truth is, you shouldn’t let Jordy move in, only because it’s completely unfair to you. They held this dinner as a way to get you to let her move in. And honestly, Nina, your family doesn’t deserve someone like you at all.”

This stings, but it makes all the sense in the world. I mean, God forbid this be a happy family dinner. Everything with my family comes with strings.

And now, here’s Brayden, pulling one of them.

“So why ask me at all?”

He shoots me a strained look. “Because tonight when I saw the rift between you and your family, I thought maybe this could be a way for you to find peace. I saw the hurt on your face at dinner tonight, and I saw the way you kept stealing glances at Jordy. And you know what? When you weren’t looking, she was doing the same thing. So I told myself that maybe the two of you could figure out a way to come back together.” He takes a deep breath then glances at me.

“And she’s transferring up here for school,” I fill in. “So it would make sense.”

“And she’s preparing for our wedding.”

I don’t know why the words knock the wind out of me. The wedding. Of course that’s what she’s doing. She’s rocking that huge ass ring, so why wouldn’t she want to get going on their wedding plans?

Except that neither of them seemed so keen to talk about the wedding at the dinner table.

“Now?” I ask.

“Well, after she’s done with school, which will be at the end of next semester. We’ve been long distance our whole relationship, and she thought it might be a good idea to move closer before we get married, kind of as a trial before we make things permanent.”

I fucking hate this idea. I have no right to feel this strongly about it either. I’ve known Brayden for all of two days, and I’m feeling crazy possessive over him.

He’s not mine.

“And why can’t she move in with you?”

“Because my parents won’t go for it. I still live at home, since it just makes sense, running the ranch and all. But it is my parents’ home, and I have to respect their rules.”

I’m so confused by what he’s suggesting. My heart is aching for so many reasons, mostly because even with all he’s saying, I’m considering it. For one, Jordy and I have a chance to rekindle the bond we once shared—and man, I miss what we had so much. But there’s another reason that feels equally as big, and that’s knowing I will never be with Brayden, no matter what. What better way to pound that nail in the coffin than by moving his fiancé into my home? Maybe if I see the two of them together more often, it will help me to move beyond this ridiculous obsession that is Brayden Winters.

We take the turn on my street, and I can feel each second like a brick against my head, counting down the final moments of our time together.

“Just forget about it,” Brayden says, shaking his head. “Seriously, forget I asked.”

But I can’t.

We pull up to the house. Jordy is parked across the street, looking at her phone as if she doesn’t care that we’re here. I reach for the door handle, but then the heat of his hand reaches my shoulder just as I bite back the sob I’ve been holding. This is so hard, and I never realized how much it hurt. All of this. I never wanted to lose my family. Yet here I am, lonelier than I’ve ever felt in my life, actually contemplating allowing Jordy to move in, partly because I miss my family.

But mostly because it pretty much guarantees I have to forget anything I’ve ever felt for her fiancé.