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‘I wasn’t concerned,’ he said. ‘It was classic Anthony. His intuition is sharp. He knew he was wasting time in school. He knew his future was in the West Coast. And he knew Naomi was the woman for him.’
‘Naomi is the same way,’ Samantha said. ‘She packed up and left for California with one week’s notice. I freaked out. Amelia broke down. Naomi never lost her cool. She never doubted it was the right move for her.’
‘They’re perfect for each other.’
‘I want to be perfect for someone.’ The words slipped out of her. She wished she could recall them.
‘You may be perfect for me, Sam.’
She didn’t believe it. This was their last night together and they’d spent it talking about the enigmatic Tara. There was a chance Roman was still in love with her.
‘You’ll forgive me if I doubt it. Not too long ago, you were all set to marry another woman.’
‘There were practical reasons for doing it,’ he said. ‘Around the time of Anthony’s visit, Tara’s lease on her studio was coming up for renewal. What made sense at the beginning no longer made sense. Life would be simpler if she just moved in with me. After Anthony’s visit, living together wasn’t enough. She wanted to make it official.’
‘You loved her. You’d been together a long time. What was holding you back?’
‘That’s what Tara wanted to know. To this day I don’t have an answer. It didn’t feel right. That’s all I can say. Seeing Anthony so sure and in love brought all our issues to light.’
For the first time ever, Samantha was grateful Timothy had ended their relationship before things got complicated. Here was an account of how complicated things could be. It made her simple break-up enviable.
‘We were together so long. It was simple, easy, routine. It wasn’t like …’
‘Like what?’
Roman caught her gaze and held it until the air they breathed turned thick. She wanted to break away, but couldn’t. His hold on her was just that strong. All he had to do to break the spell was lower his eyes.
‘In the end, I figured we’d been together too long to just pull the plug. You know? Her birthday was coming up. Tara was born on January first and we usually celebrate on New Year’s Eve. All I had to do was buy a ring. We were dressed for a party and had champagne on ice.’
‘It doesn’t sound like you put too much effort into it.’
It was tough not to draw a side-by-side comparison with the proposal she’d witnessed just the other day. Jason had gone through so much trouble to make the occasion special for Jasmine. She remembered how nervous he was beforehand and how euphoric he’d been ever since she’d said yes. That was how it ought to be.
‘Next time I’ll hire a hot-air balloon. Would you like that?’
‘If I’m ever on a hot-air balloon ride with you, I’ll push you out,’ Samantha cautioned. ‘I sat through a three-course meal watching you reconnect with your long-lost fiancée—’
‘You’re hung up on that word,’ he said. ‘How many times do I have to tell you? We were never engaged.’
‘What happened? You bought the ring and everything. Did you change your mind?’
He cocked his head. ‘Love how you’re so eager to blame me.’
Samantha brought her hands to her face. ‘Oh my God, she turned you down.’
‘Bingo. She said it felt forced and she’d started to question her own feelings. That ring never made it out of the box. We fought. We cried. She moved out that night.’
‘Sorry. I don’t know what to say.’
Roman fell silent again. This time the surf roared in her ears. He might be over Tara, but he wasn’t over the break-up. ‘You asked if my heart was ever broken. My answer is yes. That night was the worst of my life. She was the only woman I ever loved.’
‘She’s here now. Don’t you think you can work it out?’
Roman didn’t hesitate. ‘I don’t want to. It was hard to let go, but once I did I felt free.’
‘I think she turned you down out of pride.’
‘She wants what Anthony has, that kind of love. Here’s the thing: before Anthony ever got to that point, he left everything behind and struck out on his own. I didn’t do that. I took the first job out of school and tried to make things work with the first girl I loved. When none of it made me happy, I couldn’t figure out what went wrong. But now I know.’
