Page 59 of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

Merritt’s smile wavered as she took a sip from her glass. “What happened after that?”

I shrugged, drying my hands. “We bonded over riding. She had this sleek crotch rocket, fast as hell. She didn’t have the same reckless streak I do, but she loved the road just as much. Those first six months? They were good. Really good. It was so easy and fun. We were always out riding looking for the coolest places to visit. She knew a lot of back roads and so did I. We probably put a million miles on our bikes.”

I took a moment to cherish those early memories. She should have been perfect for me. I should have been crazy in love.

“And after that?” she asked softly.

I leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms. “We tried to claw our way back to those first six months. Every fight, every misunderstanding, we kept chasing that feeling, but it was gone. Leah had her demons, and I had mine. She got jealous, especially when she found out about you.”

She looked confused. “About me?”

“She knew there was someone else.”

“I don’t understand,” she said. “I left.”

“Merritt, like I said, there was always you,” I said. “We might not have talked about it, but you have to know it was always there.”

She nodded and didn’t make me spell it all out. “How did she find out about me?”

“She knew you were Gary’s daughter.”

“What?” Merritt’s voice rose, a mix of disbelief and something else—hurt, maybe. “My dad? I’m confused. How did she know my father?”

I laughed softly, running a hand through my hair. “I saw your dad every other Sunday after you left. From the day you went to Miami until about a week before we lost him.”

Her face softened at the mention of her father. “You kept visiting him? I didn’t know…”

Just thinking about Gary had me reaching for the wine. It wasn’t enough to make me drunk. Hell, it wasn’t even enough for a buzz. I took a long drink anyway, thinking back to the last time I saw Gary. He’d been in bad shape. The nurses told me it wouldn’t be long. But they had been saying that and I never fully believed it. Until he was gone.

“Leah hated it,” I admitted. “Drove her nuts that I wouldn’t bail on the guy. She went with me once. Your dad didn’t know who I was. She knew he wasn’t my family. I told her he was a friend of a friend, which really confused her. Gary wasn’t always nice when I stopped by. Sometimes, I had to leave five minutes after I got there because he was convinced I was someone else. I didn’t want to upset him.”

Merritt nodded. “He didn’t know who I was.”

“Once she figured out he was your dad, she couldn’t let it go,” I said with a sigh. “You were the girl everyone said I’d never get over. The one I…”

I trailed off, the words too heavy to say out loud. But Merritt wasn’t letting me off that easy.

“The girl you what?” she pressed, her voice barely above a whisper.

She leaned forward. I didn’t know if she realized she was doing it. I studied her, the way her hair fell loose around her face, the way her eyes searched mine for something she wasn’t sure she wanted to find. “The girl I made promise me she wouldn’t go breaking my heart by falling in love at college and forgetting about me,” I finally said.

She looked down, like she was too ashamed to look me in the eyes. “I didn’t.”

“You didn’t what?” I asked.

“I didn’t forget about you, and I definitely never fell in love with anyone.”

I stared at her, willing her to look me in the eyes. I needed to see her face to know if she was lying. “No?” I asked. “I find it hard to believe you have been single this whole time. You just said you are successful. You’re certainly beautiful. I don’t believe you’ve managed to stay single for ten years.”

“It wasn’t like that,” she said quickly. “I never fell for anyone. I never dated seriously. But I guess I fell in love with my job, with climbing the ladder. With Miami. I loved being this strong, independent woman who made it on her own. I loved that I was in a big city far away from home and kicking ass.”

“I guess so,” I murmured, the weight of those years settling between us like a giant boulder. “We’re different in that regard.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were always the one that wanted to get out of Dallas and see the world, Merritt. I was content to stay here. To be honest, I’m still content to stay here. I have never been interested in conquering the world. I just like being free.”

She looked hurt but tried her best to hide it. “I wanted to experience new things, see new places,” she said defensively.