“I’m fine.” I turn back to my laptop, opening it just to have something to look at. “I’m sorry, I forgot about lunch. Can we reschedule?”
“JuJu.” He closes the door behind him and comes over to the desk. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I’m just—I have a lot of work to finish.”
“You were crying.”
“I wasn’t—” But my voice cracks. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s clearly not nothing.” He pulls up a chair and sits down across from me. “Talk to me.”
I should tell him to leave, should reschedule lunch and deal with this on my own like I deal with everything else. But he’s looking at me with so much concern, his whole body leaning forward like he’s ready to catch whatever I’m about to say, and I’m so tired of holding it together.
“My sister’s getting married this weekend,” I say finally.
“I know. In Toronto, right? You’ve been stressed about it.”
Of course he knows. We’ve been talking about it for weeks.About how I’m dreading going back, about seeing Garrett, about having to smile through the whole thing.
“My ex will be there. He’s the groom’s best friend.”
“Yeah, I remember.” He leans on the desk. “Did something else happen?”
“He’s engaged.” The words come out flat, hollow. “And he’s bringing her to the wedding.”
Rodriguez’s entire expression changes, anger flashing across his face. “What?”
“Olivia just called. She wanted to warn me before I got there. Garrett proposed to her.” My voice is getting higher and I can’t stop it. “He couldn’t commit to moving cities for me after three years but he can propose to her after only—” I break off.
“Jesus, Juliette.”
“So I get to fly home tomorrow and spend the whole wedding watching them be happy together while my entire family asks me if I’m okay and if I’m seeing anyone and why I’m still single.” I close my laptop because there’s no point pretending I’m going to work. “Should be a great time.”
He’s quiet for a moment, just watching me. “That’s really fucked up.”
“It is what it is.”
“No, that’s genuinely one of the worst things I’ve ever heard. You don’t deserve that.” His voice is firm, almost angry, but not at me.
My throat tightens.
“I keep thinking...” I stop, trying to figure out how to explain it. “I did everything right. I was supportive, I was understanding about the distance, I made space for him in my life. And it still wasn’t enough. She was enough after five months but I wasn’t enough after three years.”
“That’s not about you. That’s about him being an asshole.”
“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just—” I gesture vaguely. “Not enough.”
“Stop.” His voice is firm, cutting through my spiral. “That guy cheated on you. Then he broke up with you over FaceTime while youwere meal prepping. He’s a coward and an idiot, and the fact that he moved on fast doesn’t mean anything except that he’s still a coward and an idiot.”
I almost smile. “You don’t have to defend me.”
“I’m serious. You’re—” He stops, shakes his head. “You’re not ‘not enough.’ Trust me on that.”
There’s intensity in his voice that makes me look up at him, his eyes focused entirely on me.
“I should finish packing,” I say, even though I have barely started. “My flight’s at nine tomorrow morning.”
“Are you going alone?”
