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“Why not?”
“I guess I didn’t want to put her on the spot. I don’t see her as being different. I didn’t want to make her feel like she didn’t fit in. I’d never want to alienate any of my sisters. And to be honest, I don’t see it as a disorder. I see it as a unique way of thinking. Of being human.” She rubbed her arms and shivered.
Tristan jumped and immediately removed his coat, placing it on her shoulders. “You shouldn’t be out here in the cold.”
Grace attempted to argue with him and refuse the coat, but he wasn’t having any of it. They stood in silence for a few moments and he let the cold seep into his skin. It was like he was waking up—becoming more alert in regard to his current predicament.
“Maybe I’m not ready for a relationship.”
He felt her eyes on him. Shoot. Had he actually said that out loud? Heat crawled up his neck despite the chilled air that whispered against his skin.
Tristan let out a strangled laugh. “How much do you know about my family?”
She shook her head. “Why would I know anything about your family?”
His embarrassment continued to worsen. “I just figured…” He sighed. “Never mind. My wife left me soon after we found out my son was on the spectrum. I thought…” He let out a sad laugh. “When I met Dianna, I thought maybe I had found someone I could be with—someone I could trust.”
“You can trust Dianna.” Grace’s voice lowered, sounding almost upset. “She’d never do anything to hurt you.”
She already had, but he wasn’t about to bring that up. Somehow he felt like he was part to blame for all of this. Dianna was trustworthy; she just might not be meant for him. That realization hurt more than the actual breakup.
He pushed past her statement and continued. “I think I was so focused on what I wanted that I didn’t see what she needed.” His whisper was barely audible. The weight that rested on him felt even heavier. Everything was coming into a sharper focus, but he still wanted her. Nothing would be able to change his mind about that. Dianna was special. The only question that remained was whether he could actually step back and give her the space Grace had mentioned.
Tristan took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What do you think I should do?”
Grace snorted. “You can’t seriously be asking me that right now.”
“Why not? I think we know one another well enough. You haven’t exactly held anything back up until this point anyway. Besides, I could really use the advice. This is the first time in a long while I have actually been in the dating pool, and we saw how well that went.” He made a face. He’d really botched things up this time. “I still want her in my life, as strange as that sounds.”
“It doesn’t sound too strange to me.” Grace reached out and touched his arm. “I think it’s sweet. I hope one day I’ll find someone who is as crazy about me as you are about Dianna. She’s lucky she has you.” She grimaced. “Even if she doesn’t realize it yet.”
“So you’re saying I still have a chance?”
“Honestly? I have no idea. I haven’t ever been able to predict the things she does. Her logic isn’t anything like mine.”
That didn’t exactly instill any of the confidence he’d hoped it would. “Then it’s the opposite. I don’t have a shot at getting her back.”
“I didn’t say that either, and you know it. Geez, will you stop being so fatalistic? If you want her back, use what you have and take advantage of what you know. You’ve been working with her and your son for the last several weeks. There has to be something you can pull out of that magician’s hat to help you out. In my opinion, nothing is ever lost for good. Dianna just needs to be reminded about that.”
Tristan shook his head. “You didn’t hear her. She basically said that I had suffocated her. I made her feel like she was being pushed into a corner.”
“Then don’t do that.” She made it sound so simple. Like he knew what he’d been doing since the very beginning. Before he could point it out, she interrupted him. “Think before you speak.Reallylisten to her. Make her fall even more in love with you than she already is, and she’ll come back to you on her own terms.” She nudged him with her elbow. “It’s not like you aren’t going to be seeing a lot of her. She’s still working for Shane out at the country club. Give her some space and see what comes of it.”
She shrugged out of his coat and held it out to him. “Just do me one favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t tell her we had this chat. Something tells me she wouldn’t be too thrilled about it.”
He nodded. “Deal.”
Grace headed for the door then paused, her hand on the knob. She glanced back at him. “Whatever you do, don’t give up. It might sound silly, but the best things are worth waiting for. Worst case scenario—you go on a few dates with someone else while you wait.” She disappeared inside before he had a chance to thank her. Somehow Grace had been the one to talk him off a ledge, and he didn’t even know her that well. Her little speech was probably even better than anything Shane might have said to him. Could he do it? Could he stand back and watch Dianna work with Mathew without doing anything to further compromise his relationship with her? The better question was whether he could go on a date with someone else and not be thinking of Dianna for the entire evening.
That thought was laughable.
But maybe that was his only option. While he was willing to wait for her, he couldn’t put his life on hold. She’d already broken up with him. There was only one way to go from here.
And that was up.
