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“You don’t have any other reason to stay?” Ethan was merely curious, but I hesitated, and he caught it. “Are you seeing someone?”
“Not exactly. We had an arrangement, but now it’s over.” I was pretty sure I’d been clear about that on the phone with Abby the other night.
“What kind of arrangement?”
Suddenly hot, I moved around him to open the window above the sink. “You know, one that’s purely physical, where no one catches any feelings.”
“Friends with benefits? What are you? A teenager?”
Shame coursed through me. He was right. It was stupid and irresponsible to treat Abby like that. “I wanted more, but it was all she was willing to give.”
“And now?”
“I still want more, but she has too much baggage.” That was how I’d justified leaving to myself. Abby wouldn’t come around. She wasn’t going to get over her ex. The wounds were too deep. I didn’t stand a chance. And who could blame her? I’d always felt unworthy of her to begin with.
“Who are we talking about?”
I shifted on my feet. “Abby, the wedding photographer. We hooked up the night of your wedding. I never thought I’d see her again.”
“She’s a single mom.”
“She didn’t tell me that, or I never would have gotten involved. It was supposed to be a night we could let go.”
“You picked it back up with her when you moved here?”
“Something like that. It was all she was willing to give. It was enough until it wasn’t.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed on me. “You caught feelings.”
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter. Abby didn’t. It takes two to have a relationship.”
“Did you talk to her about it?”
“I told her about the situation with Austin and how we needed to get out of here.”
“But not how you felt?”
“Those were the rules she set.” Even as I said it, I knew it was a cop-out. I was using our arrangement to hide out.
“You know those rules were bullshit.”
I chuckled without any humor. “I knew I’d get hurt. I’d want more. But I didn’t care. I did it anyway.”
“Are you planning on talking to her before you leave?”
“We already discussed things over the phone.” Talking to her, seeing her in person, wouldn’t help. It would only make things worse.
“I don’t like that you’re leaving. I liked having you in town.”
“I liked living close too. I didn’t think I’d ever move back here. But, as usual, I have to put up with Austin’s shit. I can’t escape it here.”
“I get that. Have you gone to see him?”
“Brody wants to, but I don’t know. What would it change?”
“You could tell him how he’s hurting Brody. And that he needs to stop or he’s going to lose him all together.”
Would Brody eventually resent Austin if we needed to move? “Austin never cared much about how his actions hurt others.”
