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“Bug…”
“Don’t you need to get back to your babysitting duties?”
“Nah, he can wait a minute. Besides, I’ll always have time for you. Trouble in Josh paradise?”
“Cars.” I rolled my eyes.
“What?”
“You know what. He’s a good guy.”
“I’m sure he is… he’s just not the kind of guy I ever imagined you with.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I recoiled.
“He doesn’t even like hockey, Bug.”
“That doesn’t mean we’re not compatible.”
“True. But call it a gut feeling.”
“A gut feeling.” I stood, needing to do something. “How very intuitive of you.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. I guess I just always pictured you with someone with the same interests and values.”
“You don’t know anything about him, so I don’t think you really get to have an opinion.”
Carson stood too, running a hand down his face. “And why is that?” His brow arched, his expression full of accusation and disappointment.
“That’s not fair, and you know it.” Anger trickled down my spine.
So maybe I hadn’t been upfront about Josh. Maybe I’d hidden behind my parents, letting them break the news to him, but it was only because I was trying to live my life for myself. To find me again after losing Dalton. My relationship with Carson was so deeply entwined with my grief that I’d pulled away because I needed to stand on my own two feet again.
I had to prove to myself I could function without him.
He exhaled a thin breath. “I need to go. But we’ll talk about this later.”
“Whatever,” I said.
It wasn’t the most mature comeback, but he’d caught me off guard. And if I was being honest with myself, his words rang too true. Josh and I weren’t well-suited. But weren’t opposites supposed to attract? Just because he was a city boy at heart and a part of me would always belong in Dupont Beach didn’t mean we couldn’t make it work.
Except he wants space and didn’t want you last night.
A sticky trail of dejection snaked through me.
“Bug?”
“Just go, Carson. I’ll talk to you later.”
His expression softened, guilt shining in his eyes. But he started backing away. “I’ll call you later.”
I won’t answer.
I needed some time to figure things out. Being home was turning out to be more difficult than I thought. But not for the reasons I expected.
I thought I’d be sad, too crippled with grief to come back here. But it wasn’t that at all. My past and present had intersected by bringing Josh home with me.
And maybe they weren’t compatible after all.
