“I needed time to figure it all out.”
Before coming on this trip, the old Ava wouldn’t have hesitated at the thought of telling him I love him too.But I’m not that person any longer. He’s treated me like I don’t matter ever since he left. My heart can’t be toyed with. It belongs to another. Even if Fernando can’t love me back. “Dylan, no... it’s too late,” I whisper.
“Ava, please,” he begs. “I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself to you. Everybody deserves a second chance.” He moves closer to me. “We have a history together. Eight years of friendship can’t be destroyed in the span of four weeks. That should be enough for at least five minutes of your time.”
I study Dylan’s face. His eyes are wide and pleading with me. They remind me so much of a boxer puppy. I know I shouldn’t do it, especially after how hard I’ve worked to get over him, but a small part of me still has feelings for the man. “Five minutes. That’s it.” I nod to Fernando. “He’s going to be starting a timer as soon as we sit down at that empty table over there.”
Dylan opens his mouth to argue with me, but I shoot him my best icy glare, and he clamps it shut. We cross the patio and take seatsacross from one another. I sit tall and cross my arms against my chest. “What do you want, Dylan?”
“I thought it was obvious. I want you!”
I snort. “You have a funny way of showing it. You stopped replying to my texts. You never called. And then the next thing I know, you’re engaged.”
“We aren’t together anymore. Rainy’s personality was too strong for me. I need someone with a softer, gentler personality. Like you.”
“Then why did you propose to her?”
“Because at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.” He leans forward in his seat. “But I was wrong about wanting to marry her. You’re the only person in my life who’s always been right by my side. You get me. I can count on you to bring me a coffee in the morning. To go hiking with me. And to take care of the paperwork so I can make sure our clients are happy. When you move to Fort Collins and join me?—”
I wrinkle my nose. He’s trying to compliment me, but everything coming out of his mouth sounds like an insult. He didn’t want someone with another alpha personality like him. He wants someone who will go along with what he wants. Somebody who’s a people pleaser.
The old Ava didn’t have a backbone. But the new Ava does. I was too blinded to see Dylan’s flaws before. But after spending so much time around Fernando, I know what I want in a man. And more importantly, how I deserve to be treated. “Do you hear yourself?” I look him up and down.
“What?”
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Dylan. There are a few billion other people out there too.”
He frowns deeply. “Huh?”
“In the four years our practice was open, you never once brought me coffee. Every time you wanted to spend some time together,youpicked the spot and the activity. Youneverwanted to do the things I suggested. And as far as the clinic, I only filled out your paperworkbecause if I didn’t, the patient records would always be incomplete. You always brushed it off and said you’d do it later, but that never happened. You’d always leave right when we closed, and it would be up to me or Vicki to do whatever wasn’t done during the workday.” I shake my head and rub my temples. “I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to realize how self-centered you are.”
“Come on, Ava, you aren’t being fair.”
I drum my fingers on the table. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s my normal drink order? And when I bought out your ownership of the clinic, name one thing you did to help make the transition smoother.”
His eyes widen and he stares at me as if I’ve grown a second head. “Uh... a caramel macchiato?”
“Wrong.” I make a buzzer noise. “Care to try again?”
“Green tea latte?”
“That’s strike two.”
He clenches his jaw. “This is stupid.”
To prove my point, I deadpan, “Youalways get the vanilla bean frappe with three extra shots of espresso. Your second favorite drink is a cinnamon bun latte with oat milk. And for the answer to my last question: You didn’t do anything. Not a single thing. As soon as the transfer went through, you stopped working.I’meven the one who packed up your darn office.”
“Ava, I had things to do before my move. I had to pack up my house, find a new apartment in Fort Collins. Make sure I called the utility companies to cancel all my accounts.”
I cut him off. “You had months to do that. But you procrastinated. The more I think about it, the more I realize that you haven’t changed at all since vet school. You don’t need me. What you need is to grow up.”
“Ava, be reasonable.”
His words send hurricane-force winds shooting out of my body. “That’s all I’ve ever been to you, Dylan.” I stand. “There willneverbe an us,” I spit out.
Across the restaurant, the timer goes off. “Time’s up,” Fernando calls out.
As I turn to leave, Dylan reaches for my forearm and spins me around, shoving the roses under my nose. “But you love me.”
