AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“God no.” Sabine scrunched her face up in disgust. “No. See? That’s what someone else would think but that’s not how Dave’s mind works. He…” She sighed. Because this was where it all fell apart.
She knew he was hurt. That he was embarrassed. But until hetoldher how he felt, she was just guessing.
And she didn’t feel comfortable guessing about how his mind worked. She wanted him to explain it to her.
She wanted him to trust her enough to explain it to her.
But she’d violated that trust by leaping ahead when he’d clearly asked for more time.
“He’s different,” she finished helplessly.
“Why do you think he reacted that strongly?” André asked.
This was one of their similarities. Even though they’d been raised by opposite parents and had grown up in different parts of the world, they both loved to ask questions. Theywantedto understand. They delighted in the discovery. And they especially loved it when they could facilitate discovery in someone else.
“I think it has something to do with his mom not being able to deal with his diagnosis.”
André made a face. “But he’s hugely successful. Clearly, it’s not held him back.”
Sabine rolled her eyes. “Dude, we both know better than anyone how tricky mommy issues are. We are fully functional adults, and we still struggle in our relationships.”
“Touché,” André toasted his wine towards her.
She knew André struggled with abandonment issues, and she had trouble with trust. No one in this world had been spared.
All people were just walking wounds trying to find home and happiness.
“Anyway,” she went on, a little sadder now. “I love him. That’s pretty much the whole story.”
André dipped his head at her confession. “And does he know you love him?”
“Nope.” She made a popping noise with her lips when she ended the word. She’d told him, yeah. But hearing and knowing were different things. “How about Nikki? Does she know you’re still in love with her?”
André’s eyebrows lifted into his hairline and his mouth fell open.
“Boom, sucka!” Sabine hollered. “Didn’t see that coming, did you?” She pumped her arms in the air and did her version of a victory dance.
“You suck,” André said, picking up the bottle of wine. “I’m taking the rest of this.” He went back around to the other side of the island, his ears a bright red.
Sabine laughed and the energy shift in her chest helped move some of the pain around. She would be okay. And Dave would be okay. And they would eventually talk about what happened because she was just on the wrong side of crazy to let Dave ghost her.
And honestly, he would probably eventually respect her for wanting to at least clarify some things before leaving him alone.
Maybe.
She hoped.
Because she wasn’t going to just let him slam the door on what they had been building. She was at least going to apologize. Even if she had to get past Dallas to do it.
“So are we eating real food or is it just cookies all holiday?” André asked, dipping a snowman body into the frosting.
“Just forgoing the utensils, huh?” she asked, watching him.
He shrugged. “It’s just us.”
“We’re not animals,” she admonished. He waggled his eyebrows and she snickered. “I have sandwich stuff in the fridge if you need nutrients outside of sugar.”
She eyed the overflowing trashcan and made a face. “How much do I have to pay you to take out my trash?”
