Page 105 of The Wedding Situation Romance

“Only if you want to,” she offers. “But I know the details. If you want to keep this short.”

“Yeah,” I nod, scratching my chin. “It all just came as a surprise to me, you know? Finding out that Ashley Overholt was her client. Realizing that Grant Bowen is Quinn’s father. It lined up, you know? Like a big kick in the teeth. Except…” I trail off, but she doesn’t press. She waits. “Except that…it doesn’t line up.”

“And why is that?” she asks, even though we both know the answer.

“Because it’s not who she is,” I say, and Allegra smiles and nods.

“No. It really isn’t,” she says. “Quinn is all heart. And while that doesn’t mean she can’t be spicy,” she says, and I snort.“She doesn’t have a conniving bone in her body. I say that as a therapist and her best friend. But I also understand where you are coming from. How that information was blinding. And I know too that after being hurt by someone, it’s very easy to jump to conclusions about new people. Especially when your heart is fully involved.”

“My ex,” I start in, and while I can’t believe I am going here, for the first time maybe ever, I actually feel like it’s okay to go here. “Was very good at pulling one over on me.” I click my tongue before going on. “Have you ever watched the movie (500) Days of Summer?”

“I have,” she smiles.

“Lauren loved that movie. But unlike everyone else, she sided with Summer. Most people think Tom was in the right. That he was in love and she led him on and all that. But Lauren always defended her. She said that all the signs were there that the relationship wasn’t right for Summer, but no one, especially Tom, could see that.”

“Do you think Lauren was trying to tell you something?” Allegra asks, and the question feels like a cannonball to the chest. Because I never really thought about that before.

“Maybe…” I answer hollowly. “Maybe she wasn’t trying to break my heart. It just wasn’t right for her and I…couldn’t see that.”

I think about that for a long, painful moment. And then I look up at her again.

“Does that mean the breakup was my fault?” I ask.

“No,” Allegra shakes her head. “Honestly, a good number of breakups are nobody’s fault. The couple just wasn’t right for each other. That doesn’t always lessen the pain, though.”

No, it does not.

But more than I feel pain for my past, I feel an even harder ache for now. For what happened with Quinn.

“Do you think I’ve lost her?” I ask, and I know Allegra knows I mean Quinn.

“Friend, not therapist?” she asks.

“Yeah.”

“I think you broke her heart, Reid,” she says, and that’s cannonball number two. “I think she was in love with you and is in love with you and is devastated by your accusations.”

“Yeah,” I say again.

“But I also think there’s hope,” she adds, and my eyes flash up to hers.

“How do you figure?” I ask.

She waits. Then her tongue clicks, and I think we are transitioning back into therapist mode. “Why did things work out with the Overholt’s?”

“Because they went to therapy,” I state.

“No. Therapy was a tool. But in the end, what really made it work?” she asks.

“They both wanted it,” I say, and she nods slowly.

“Exactly. Friend to friend, off the record, she still loves you. She still wants you. And that you’re here tells me you feel the same.”

“So there’s hope,” I state, standing up.

“Well, hang on there, cowboy,” Allegra holds up a hand. “Sit back down,” she says, and I do. “Just because you both still want each other doesn’t change the damage done. I think that if you put in effort, go to her humbly and talk to her, things could work out. But I also think that the gesture you make is going to have to be pretty grand. And honestly, as her friend, I am going to tell you it damn well better be. She deserves it.”

“I know,” I nod. “She deserves the world.”