I hear a noise from the kitchen.
I’ve been such a shitty friend for the last couple of days. I owe him an apology. A big one.
All thoughts of Griffin and my broken engagement vanish as I run my fingers through my hair and step out of my room to search for Tobias. I tug at the shirt he’d loaned me to wear. It barely touches my knees.
That said, this shirt smells like him, and having his scent surrounding me since the moment I got here last night … it’s exactly what I needed.
It’s calming having him this close.
Especially now.
I step into the kitchen, and Tobias looks my way instantly.
“Morning.” He smiles as he closes the refrigerator. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Mm-hmm, great.”
“Good to hear. So, um … ugh, I’ll just get right to it and ask: how much more does Griffin hate me?” Tobias whisks some eggs in a bowl.
That’s right. He doesn’t know that Griffin and I broke up. I was so caught up in getting to him and his reaction at seeing me after our fight that I didn't tell him. Last night there was a lot to take in. Now that my mind has had time to recoup and get rest, now is as good a time as any.
“That bad, huh?” he asks when I don’t say anything.
I sigh. “I don’t know. Not much more than he could hate me right now, but I don’t really care.”
It’s a weird feeling to not care. Hell, we were together for four years, but how it ended and the way he called me another woman’s name sort of released me from something. From the grief of what I lost. Because the way I see it, I didn’t lose anything. He did.
“He loves you, Nat. If he’s even a little bit mad at you, it’ll pass.”
“Sure. Sure. But we actually broke up last night when I walked out of the engagement party to come here.”
The whisk drops out of his hand into the bowl, the handle clanking against the ceramic.
“Holy shit, Nat.”
Tobias sets the bowl down and turns the burner off before he rounds the kitchen island and sits next to me. He scoots his chair close to mine and grabs my hand.
I can’t bother to look anywhere but at where our hands are laced together.
“Why didn’t you say anything last night?”
I shrug one shoulder and shake my head. “You had a lot going on.”
“I never have too much going on for you, Natalie. Never. If you need me, I’m there.”
I lean into him, and he wraps his arm around me.
“Fuck. I don’t even know what to say right now. How are you? What’s going on in your head? Do you want to talk about it? What did he say when you left? If he was dick, I’ll drive right back to Wind Valley as soon as Grandma Betty is home safe and kick his ass.”
This pulls a laugh out of me.
“You’re not a fighter, Tobias.” I grab his bicep and squeeze. “But you’d definitely win against anyone, not just Griffin.”
I say it as a joke, but the look in his eyes isn’t humor.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nod. “I feel horrible, Tobias. You tried to warn me, and I was”—here come the tears—“I was awful to you. I said mean things. I … I …”
