Page 36 of Here & Now

“Yeah.” Somehow, she’d managed to get a rise out of him, which wasn’t easy to do. He faced her with his hands on his hips, and his chest rose and fell with his ragged breaths.

She studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable. “I had a bad experience recently,” she said as if that explained everything.

“With a guy, I take it.”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

He was done tiptoeing around her. If she were going to accuse him of playing games, she owed him an explanation.

She started walking again, slower this time, and he fell into step beside her.

“I was in a serious relationship when my grandmother got sick, cancer. My parents brought her back to Michigan to care for her.” She took a deep breath. “I was spending a lot of time at their house, especially at the end.” Another breath. “Right before she died, John broke up with me.”

Zane’s reply bubbled out before he had a chance to stop it. “Asshole.”

“He accused me of not giving enough attention to our relationship. During my absence, he found someone else to pay attention to him.”

He blew out an exasperated breath. It was guys like that who gave all men a bad name. “You’re better off without him.”

“That’s what everyone said, but it still hurt.”

“I didn’t mean to diminish your feelings.”

She glanced up at him, her ponytail blowing in the breeze. “You don’t have to apologize on his behalf.”

“Not all men are like that.”

“I know,” she said, but she didn’t sound convinced.

“How long were you together?”

“Two years. We talked about getting married.”

As he gazed at her, he saw the pain in her pretty blue-gray eyes. If her boyfriend had stayed with her, she wouldn’t be standing here right now, at least not with him. He slowly reached out and brushed a wayward strand of hair off her face. He had an overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms and hold her close, but he shoved his hands in his pockets instead.

“He was an idiot.”

Her lips curved up at the corners. “I just realized something.”

“What’s that?”

“I was supposed to be interviewing you, not the other way around.”

He felt privileged that she’d confided in him. “I’m glad you told me. It explains a few things.”

“Like why I’ve been giving you a hard time?”

He smiled. “Yeah.”

She turned and resumed walking. As he fell into step with her, he realized they’d walked quite a way down the beach and there were very few people around. The setting was idyllic and intimate, and if things were different, he might have initiated a kiss. There was no way in hell he’d try that now, though, especially after what she’d just told him.

She was vulnerable and still healing from her grandma’s death and her boyfriend’s betrayal. No matter what she might think of him, he wasn’t going to add to her pain.

“Why don’t we sit down for a minute?” he suggested.

Her head shot up, and she stared at him like she’d just remembered he was there. “Okay.”