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“I so wanted to believe you weren’t playing me.”
Zane twisted. Sophie leaned against the doorway, the coffee cup in her hand shaking.
“I thought you cared about me and I really thought I was…” Her lips trembling, she squeezed her eyes shut.
But not before he saw the love shining there.
Shit. He got to his feet. “Sophie—”
“Save it. I don’t want to hear any more lies.” She stood there quivering in nothing but his T-shirt, and his heart split in two.
“W-We both knew what this was,” he said. It killed him to see the pain creasing her forehead and clouding the brightness in her eyes, but it was better to end things now than disappoint her later. And hewouldfail her later, just like he had his sister. He loved Sophie too much to do that.
Her life and happiness were what mattered, and while it felt incredibly wrong to lie to her about his feelings, her needs came before his. “A fling,” he added. “A fun way to pass the time, but I’m not a guy who cares about anyone for the long haul. We come from completely different worlds, and meeting this week just happened to help both of us.”
“Well, you got exactly what you wanted. Your reputation’s improved and SHE’s chosen you to be their ambassador.”
“And you got more events under your belt. I’ll be sure Danny lets your boss know how happy we were.” It physically hurt to sound like an ass. Sharp, unrelenting daggers pierced his heart over and over again. But he’d suffer it a thousand times to make sure Sophie ended up with the kind of man she deserved.
“For your information,” she paused as a swallow worked its way down her throat, “what this was was the best week of my life…and now you’ve ruined it. You couldn’t have pretended just a little longer?” She lifted away from the doorway. “Word of advice. Wait for the girl to leave before you knock her down.”
“Sophie—” Dammit. Why couldn’t she see she was better off without him?
She held up her hand. “I knew I wasn’t pretty enough for you. I knew I wasn’t worldly enough. But no one has ever made me feel stupid until now.”
Zane swayed, his knees almost giving out at the weight of Sophie’s words. He put a hand on the back of the chair to steady himself. Without meaning to, he’d just done to her what his father had done to him. But he wouldn’t rewind the last ten minutes even if he could. He’d needed to make her hate him.
He didn’t utter another word. Letting her go thinking the worst of him—and herself—was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.
Watching her walk away felt like being ripped to shreds, but no doubt she’d be better off without him.
Zane wove through the crowd of surf enthusiasts and filmmakers, smiled, shook hands, had his picture taken, received dozens of pats on the back. Finally, he got to the bar in the center of the bluff-top Cultural Center and Gardens and asked the bartender for a glass of water. The afternoon breeze wasn’t enough to temper the warm rays of August sunshine hitting the back of his neck.
He caught sight of Sophie again, standing under a palm tree and this time talking and laughing with the film group from San Diego. She’d been doing that all afternoon—speaking with the festival participants. The change in her from the last time they’d been up here—on opening night—to today was pretty amazing. She’d blossomed into the most beautiful, rare butterfly, and despite the horrible way things had ended between them, had been gracious enough to publicly thank him for his participation when he’d arrived earlier.
She stood out like the brightest star in the sky. And he could stare at her disarming smile all day. She’d gotten a lot of color this week and her skin glowed a light shade of caramel. There were a few more freckles across her nose and on her shoulders. Her hair, pulled back in a sophisticated ponytail a few days ago, now hung in loose waves around her face.
But it wasn’t just the external stuff he noticed. She seemed more confident. More at ease with herself and her body. The group she was with looked at her with appreciation. At least he hadn’t ruined everything for her this week.
For so long he’d thought the only thing he deserved from a woman was a casual relationship. Something uncomplicated. Temporary and superficial. And he’d proven this morning how right he was. Someone like Sophie, with her pure heart and engaging intelligence, was out of his league. Inevitably he wouldn’t live up to her expectations.That’s your dad talking, Zane. Get your head out of the gutter. He’s the one who didn’t know shit.
Yet he’d proven that, too.
He knocked back his ice water. Later he’d indulge in something a lot stronger to numb the pain chewing him up inside.
“You look like a man with something serious on his mind,” Bryce said, coming up beside him.
Zane put the empty glass on the bar and stepped around his friend to get some shade under a nearby umbrella. He lifted his sunglasses and wiped the perspiration under his eyes. Not a second later, his gaze flew back to Sophie. “I’m thinking it’s time I get my high school diploma.”
“You’ll be a shoo-in for prom king.”
“Shut up.” He pushed Bryce in the arm.
Bryce stumbled back. “Dude. You know I’m kidding. But you don’t need to pass your GED test to prove to anyone that you’re smart.”
“How about proving it to myself?”
“Then do it. In fact, we can use it to our advantage if you’re cool with that. We’ll tell your story. Let other young people who dropped out for whatever reason know that it’s not too late to get their certificate of high school equivalency. I think taking an education platform can be really beneficial to your career and help a lot of people at the same time. And if passing the test gives you what you’ve been looking for, I say go for it.”
