“I walked in on them.”
He clutched his chest. “That’s it. I need a drink after that saga.” He took a sip of his cocoa.
I shook my head, still in disbelief at the story, even though it had happened to me. “All my so-called friends knew about it too, and they didn’t tell me.”
“Some friends.”
“All the more reason to start over, right?”
“Ahh. So that explains the sudden change in zip code.”
I nodded. Despite his constant berating me since we met, I felt weirdly close to Giles in this moment. Like we were friends or something. This was the most I had opened up to someone outside my family in a long time.
I thought about telling him the whole truth. About the engagement. About the pregnancy… but I couldn’t do it. It still hurt too much to rehash it. Plus, it made me feel utterly pathetic.
Giles shook me from my sad thoughts with a gentle nudge. Our eyes met, and I was again struck by how sincere they looked.
“It’s your turn to ask me a question,” he whispered.
“Same one. What was your last relationship like?”
He scrunched his eyebrows, and his face contorted into one of pain. He eyed his beverage as if he was about to take a sip before I elbowed him in the ribs.
“Do not even think about taking a drink. I just spilled all the horrific details of my breakup. It’s your turn. No way it can be worse than mine.”
“I wouldn’t say worse. It’s just not my finest moment.” He sighed. “My last relationship is also my only relationship. I met her when she moved here in high school. We were just two dumb sixteen-year-olds. After we graduated, she wanted us to go to school together. To get married young—it’s common here. But I was getting sponsorship offers. I had done a few Colorado competitions, and I wanted more. So, I left. Joined a team, moved away, and broke her heart.”
“That doesn’t seem so bad…” I trailed off, thinking about the interaction between the two of them in the yard. Those wounds seemed fresh still.
“Well, that’s probably not the worst part. Anytime I was home for a period of time, I would always hang out with her. Talk to her. I told her things I probably shouldn’t have.”
“Like what?” I pressed, dying to know the details.
“Like that maybe I wished we could be together.”
I gasped. “You did not.”
He looked guilty. “I did.”
“That’s awful. Why would you lead her on like that?”
He groaned. “I didn’t mean to. Part of me genuinely felt that way. I dated and was with other girls, but she was the only stable relationship I had ever had. I thought that meant something.”
“But it didn’t?”
“It didn’t,” he confirmed. “And because I would always say those things she never got into another serious relationship. When I moved back for good last year, she thought we would finally be together. I had to tell her I wasn’t in love with her.”
“Harsh.”
He nodded. “Now we see each other all the time, and I have to see the pain all over her face. I think she still thinks I’ll change my mind. But a relationship is the last thing on my mind right now.”
I nodded. “I know what you mean.”
“The shitty ex-boyfriend have you jaded?”
“Maybe. I mean I did spend eight years of my life with him. My best years, some would argue.”
“Stop. You’re in the prime of your life.”
