“I saw you in the bar.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. “From my vantage point, you looked pretty busy.”
Busy picking up beautiful women, Beck’s favorite pastime with that very smile he was giving me now.
“Not too busy to notice my friend, one who was supposed to be home weeks ago and ghosted me.”
I winced. “Sorry about that. I—”Just say it, Mae.
“Where’s the fiancé? I didn’t see him last night. Or downstairs. Is he under the bed?”
“I don’t have a fiancé.”
Beck’s smile disappeared.
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t have a fiancé. Or a job, or an apartment in Paris.”
Obviously, he was shocked.
“Okay… start at the beginning.”
And so I did. I told Beck what I had to Jules, and he took it way differently. When I explained how I found out about Mathieu’s side-chick, Beck’s chiseled jaw, one of his best features in my opinion, clenched. Beck wasn’t as big as, say, Mason, but he was big enough, and way more muscular than Mathieu. In short, he’d kick his ass, and Beck looked as if he wanted to do just that.
“What a flaming asshole.”
“I won’t disagree with you there.”
“I get calling things off with him, but why did you quit your job? And leave Paris? I thought you loved it there.”
“I did,” I admitted. “But we met not long after I arrived. Everything about it reminded me of him. I honestly don’t think I could live there and work two blocks away from him.”
“Sure,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “It would be hard initially, but eventually you’d get over him. And still have your dream job and be living in, what did you call it? ‘The most beautiful city in the whole wide world.’”
I had said that.
“My parents said the same thing. They thought I made a hasty decision. And honestly, that’s why I didn’t call you, or Jules, or anyone back home. I knew you’d try to talk me out of coming back for good.”
While I waited for him to respond, I peeked at the tattoo snaking down from under his tee. Unless I was mistaken, he’d added to it.
“Mae…”
I would not cry, even though Beck’s uncharacteristic seriousness brought home that this was a heady discussion.
“First of all, I support whatever decision you make. If it felt right to come back, great. Of course I’m thrilled to have you home. Second, I know it’s way too soon to tell you how lucky you are to find out before your wedding what a prick this guy is. Fact of the matter is, you’d committed to him, and a life in France, and his selfish decisions fucked it up for you. I’m sorry you have to deal with this, but you’re not alone. You know that.”
I wiped away a tear at his words. Knowing he was right didn’t take away the pain. But having Beck in my corner meant a lot to me.
“I know. I’m lucky to have such good family and friends. And my health. It feels so silly to be this broken apart when I have so much to be thankful for.”
“Two things can be true at once. Don’t beat yourself up too much. This is a big deal.”
“It’s just…”
He waited. I felt like a broken record, having gone over this all last night with Jules. But Beck was different. Being a man and all.
“I just don’t get it. How does someone declare you the love of their life and say they’ve never met anyone like you before and stage an elaborate engagement on the Seine and then go screw around with a coworker? Honestly. I really don’t understand.”
