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“I saw you,” I whisper, my heart breaking all over again. “The next day.” His brows crush together and his head pulls back. “You were supposed to have dinner with my family. I’d told them about you. But you didn’t come. And after, when we were walking back to the room, we passed one of the bars and there you were. I was so relieved, I pointed you out to my family.” Taking a breath, I go on. “I was about to run in and—and then this blonde slipped into your arms. And instead of confronting you about it, I was so hurt, so embarrassed… I ran away.”
“Georgie, I’m so fucking sorry. I thought—that girl—Patrick said we’d been hanging out earlier the day before and I’d thought maybe it was her. It took less than ten minutes to figure out she wasn’t the one. Ten minutes and I might—”
“You weren’t hanging out with her.” No matter what happens here, this is something I can give Quinn. Something he needs to have. “We met when you bumped into me at the ice-cream stand right after lunch.”
He shakes his head, his brows furrowing. “I don’t— But he said—”
“I know. I believe you, but I don’t think your brother is being straight with you about that trip. Patrick was there. Before you walked me home that night we hung out for a few minutes, and he made me promise not to keep you too long because he wanted to have a beer when you got back. Whatever made you lose your memory happened after that, because we didn’t have a drop of alcohol the entire time we were together.” I take his hand in mine, hating what I’m about to say. “And Patrick definitely remembers me.”
“What? How do you know?”
Taking a deep breath, I meet his eyes. “Because he came to the shop yesterday. And Quinn, he saidyouremembered me too.”
Chapter 26
Quinn
George and I talked for hours.
It was heartbreaking and unfair, and the only thing that got me through was having my arms around her as our past was finally brought to light. I don’t know how she found the faith in me to stick it out after the shit Patrick pulled, but thank God she did.
Sliding my fingers through her hair, I lean in for a kiss I wish could last. “I can do this tomorrow. We can stay here in your room in this tiny little bed that’s so perfectly small you’ll have to actually sleep on top of me. Order takeout. Watch—”
“No. You’ve waited long enough to understand what happened that night. And I want us to be able to put this behind us. Go. Talk to him. I’ll be here when you get back.”
I give her another kiss and then force myself to leave. She’s right. I need to understand what happened, and while George filled in the most important blanks, it turns out that my fucking brother might have the answers for the rest.
It takes me all of three calls to find out where Patrick is and ten minutes before a car drops me at the health club where he’s playing basketball. It’s a high-end facility, bright and stylish, with the kind of open space indicative of dues he can’t afford. Which means he either hustled someone to get in or he’s living outside his means. Wouldn’t be the first time.
He’s in the middle of a game, and I offer an abbreviated wave to the guys who stop mid-play when I walk in. All except my brother, who swipes the ball out of his buddy’s hand, taking it up the court for a layup and a cheap point that doesn’t surprise me at all.
“Yo, Pat, got a minute?”
Brows raised, he pulls a face. “Interrupting a game with my boys? Must be serious.”
I give him a tight nod, not wanting to get into it in front of the guys, but barely holding on to the rage rising inside me.
By the time he meets me outside the court, my hands are shaking.
“You knew,” I accuse, pacing the length of the short corridor.
“Knew what? Dude, you’re freaking me out.”
Playing dumb. He has no idea how close I am to losing it.
“You knew it washer. George. You fucking lied about it and then you went to find her and you fuckinglied about me.” I drag in a lungful of air that does nothing to calm me down.
Pat’s eyes bug. And I can already hear what he’s going to say. That he doesn’t know what I’m talking about or I’m way off base, but I’m not. And before he even opens his mouth, I’m back in his face. “Whythe fuckwould you do that!”
His expression goes slack, and he staggers back a step, glancing toward the door where his friends are back to playing ball. “Look, bro, we need to talk about this. But not now. Why don’t you meet me at my place tonight, and I’ll explain everything.”
Right. So he has time to get his story straight.
“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking interrupting yourbasketball gameto find out why you lied to me about the woman I love.”
“I thought I was helping you out,” he says, wiping the sweat from his face on the back of his arm. “You were so messed up that night, and she looked like the kind of girl who might read into things. The next morning, when you didn’t remember, I figured it was for the best.”
This is rich. “So this was for me?”
