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He nodded. “It sounds like a dream job.”
“I can sense a ‘but’ in there.”
“But you never did like enclosed places. You’ve always loved the sea and the mountains, the open valleys and spaces where you can see far into the distance.”
She took a delicate bite of her fish, but there was tension in her stiff movements and the taut planes of her face. “What can I say? I guess I finally grew up and realized I had to accept I couldn’t have everything in life I wanted. So I compromised.”
“I had no idea how much I hurt you, or the repercussions I caused.”
She brushed some salt off her hands onto her thighs, then shrugged. “I survived. Ten plus hours in a plane is nothing when you step out onto the tarmac and then venture out into another part of the world you can only dream about. The Maldives. Paris. Africa and its safaris. Santorini, Greece. Bora Bora. The list is endless.”
“Are you happy, though?” he asked softly.
She frowned, and shoved some chips into her mouth, as though putting off having to answer. When she finally swallowed she said coolly, “Of course I’m happy. Did you really think our breakup affected me the entire eighteen years?”
Like it’d affected him? Probably not. And yet, there was something not quite right in her words. Like she knew all the right things to say, even as his instincts said it was all an act. It was too polished, too forced.
“All I know is I wrecked something incredible,” he conceded. “Wrecked a future we could have had together, a happy ending we both deserved.”
“I’m glad you’re finally see that now,” she said, her gaze observing him closely. “I often wondered if you had any regrets.”
“I have never regretted anything more than what I did to you,” he admitted.
She tilted her head to the side, her voice skeptical. “Really?”
He nodded. “Really.” He picked up a potato cake, the thin slice of battered potato no longer all that appealing. “I know you find it hard to believe, but I’m still the good guy you remember. I’m not that asshole who broke up with you and who couldn’t see your pain through my own grief.”
She sighed heavily, clearly no longer hungry with her share of the fish and chips barely touched. “It’s a moot point now, isn’t it?” She stuck a chip in her mouth and chewed slowly, then said, “Let’s go watch your action movie.”
The gulls enjoyed the remnants of their lunch and were still fighting over the scraps as Aiden and Luna packed up, then walked back to his penthouse suite. It wasn’t until they were seated on the sofa and choosing a movie that he said, “You know what, let’s watch a romantic comedy.”
She arched a blonde brow. “Why, so you can ravish me halfway through the movie?”
“Oh, I doubt I’ll make it that far,” he said with an unrepentant grin.
Her eyes glinted. “Should we take this to the bedroom, then? It’s not like we have popcorn, anyway.”
He stood. “The movie can wait.” He held out his hand and drew her to her feet. “But we can’t.”
She giggled then, her face flushing. “Sounds like you owe me a movie and popcorn tonight.”
He bent and lifted her against his chest. “Deal,” he murmured throatily.
