“Excuse me,” I muttered as I tried to shove past the man.
“Mattie?” The voice came out nervous and cracked, but I still recognized it.
Garrett stood in front of me. His eyes were searching my face anxiously. It pained me to admit that he looked good. Clean cut in his favorite navy-blue suit that I had picked up at the dry cleaners countless times. He flashed me a sheepish smile that I didn’t bother to return.
“Hi, Garrett.” A month ago, running into him like this would have been a punch to the gut. Now all I felt was inconvenience and irritation that he was in my way.
“What happened to your foot?” He gestured to my boot.
“Snowboarding accident,” I replied flatly.
“Snowboarding? Seriously? I cannot picture you snowboarding.”
“Cleary, it didn’t go well,” I deadpanned.
He chuckled nervously. I blinked back at him in return, ready for this to be over. At least his bride-to-be wasn’t with him.
As if she could read my thoughts, Nadine opened the door and came to a shocked halt when she spotted me standing in front of Garrett. She was dressed in a tight dress that came down to her ankles. A small bump was barely visible underneath the black fabric.
“Oh, Mattie. What a surprise. How are you?”
I wanted to roll my eyes at their horrified expressions and attempt at tact. As if there was any decorum that could be salvaged from this interaction.
“I’m fantastic.” I gave her a sickeningly sweet smile that I hoped dripped sarcasm.
“Great. Great.” Nadine’s eyes darted around the coffee shop, desperate to rid herself of the reminder that her happy ending didn’t have a fairy tale beginning. “I’m going to put our orders in. It was so good to see you.” She didn’t even glance back at me as she sauntered to the counter.
Garrett was still immobile.
“Mattie…I-I just want to say—”
“Save it.” I held up my hand.
“But I just wanted to apologize—”
“What’s done is done. I don’t need your half-assed apologies. Nothing you could say now can absolve you for lying to me and wasting my time. You’re a coward for not telling me sooner.”
He looked down at his dress shoes. “I did love you.”
I scoffed, in disbelief he could stand there and say that to my face. “What you felt toward me couldn’t have been love, or you would never have treated me like that.”
“I’m so sorr—”
“I said save it. Our lives are no longer intertwined. Hopefully, after this, we will never see each other again.” I started to brush past him, but the dull rage inside me over his deceit compelled me to say one last thing. “Just so you know, I was happier these last two months without you than I ever was during our relationship.”
It felt good to close the door on Garrett. Both literally and figuratively. Unfortunately, the joy I felt was short-lived as the hollow emptiness returned to my chest.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
“Mattie,I’m so sorry to have to be a little tough with you, but your performance has been slipping ever since you got back.” Mike looked apologetic as he relayed my poor performance review to me. “Look, I don’t need to know the details, but I can tell you’re working through things in your personal life.”
I just stared at my folded hands, willing myself not to cry in his office right now. Being the shining star at work had always been my pride and joy. This was not a conversation I thought I would ever be at the receiving end of.
“I know, Mike. I’ve been a little scatterbrained. I promise I’ll do better.”
He nodded. “Look, I know you. I know you’re a good worker. I’m not trying to be harsh. I just want to say something before it becomes a problem.”
“I completely understand.”
