“You don’t have to,” I insisted, turning to him and cursing Erin in my mind.
“It’s no problem,” he said as we all grabbed our coats and exited the lively bar.
We said our goodnights to Erin and Johnny before turning to walk the short way to my apartment. Our footsteps crunching in the snow was the only sound for the first minute. Giles finally cleared his throat.
“So, is Key Ridge everything you thought it would be?”
“It’s different than I expected. More real.”
He glanced over at me. “You thought it would be fake?”
“Not exactly. I guess before I came, I was just picturing a fantasy. But Key Ridge is just as real as anywhere else. Real people, with real lives, and real problems. It isn’t just this vacation paradise.”
“Some people would love for the world to think that.”
“Like money hungry corporations?” I guessed.
He nodded.
We walked a few more steps in silence. The side of his arm kept brushing mine, effectively causing my stomach to do somersaults. I kept sneaking glances at his profile.
“I’m glad you came here,” he said.
“Why?” I asked. I couldn’t keep the surprise from creeping into my voice at his admittance.
“It’s been nice having someone around that hasn’t known me my entire life. It’s easy to talk to you.”
“It’s easy to talk to you too,” I murmured. “And I know the feeling. Before I moved here, I had the same friends since college. It felt like they knew me so well that we had run out of things to talk about if that makes sense.”
“Or maybe they just stopped trying.”
I bit my lip. “That’s probably more likely.”
“Are you doing okay with all that? Not missing your old life too much?”
“What’s there to miss.” Bitterness crept into my voice as I once again shoved all thoughts of Garrett and my ex-friends out of my mind.
“What about you?” I asked, changing the subject.
“What about me?”
“You said competing was too much pressure, but what about the rest of it? Do you miss your old life?”
He hesitated before responding. “I’m not sure that lifestyle was ever for me. It was lonely traveling all the time. I’m not much of a talker so it was hard to get close to anyone. The people that actually cared about me were always right here…” his voice faded.
Without thinking I grabbed his hand and gave it a quick squeeze.
He looked at me, eyebrows raised in surprise, before the corner of his lip tugged up.
We were in front of Bev’s house now. I stopped and turned to face him.
“Thanks for walking me home.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
I took a step toward the stairs at the same time he moved to step past me. Suddenly we were only inches apart. Giles stared down at me and my eyes flicked to his lips. Before I could think, I took a small step forward. He lingered close to me for a moment. His eyes searched mine before his gaze shifted to the ground.
Shaking his head, he cleared his throat. He took a step back, effectively killing whatever moment was happening between the two of us.
