He blinks at me. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
My heart throbs in my chest. I swallow back the sudden surge of pain. “Yeah. I am.”
I gaze down at the bar top, my head down and my shoulders slumped. A second later, Aidan claps his hand on my shoulder.
I close my eyes, grateful for the comfort that little bit of contact gives me.
“I probably shouldn’t have unloaded her like that,” I say after a while. “But I couldn’t help it. It’s how I feel about her.”
He nods like he understands.
“But she doesn’t feel the same way.” My voice starts to shake as I stop talking. I clear my throat and swallow. “She doesn’t even want to try…”
Aidan squeezes my shoulder. We’re quiet for a minute. Around us, people chat and laugh. Sound booms from the wall of flatscreen TVs on the other side of the pub.
“You know, it took a while for Micah and me to get on the same page, relationship-wise,” Aidan says after a while.
“Really?”
“Yeah. She broke up with me because of it.”
I look up at him. “Shit. I didn’t know that. What happened?”
“A lot of stuff. Our work situation complicated things since her job was essentially to get me fired. Her ex burned her pretty bad too. She was scared to be in a serious relationship because of it. So she ended things.”
I blink, surprised. I didn’t know he and Micah went through all that.
“That sounds rough.”
He takes a long sip of his beer. “It was. But then she decided to quit her job and give us a shot.”
“Wait, that’s why she quit her job? To be with you?”
“Kind of. She wanted to quit to pursue writing too, so it was more like a combination of things.” He goes quiet for a second. “I think she just needed some time on her own to sort things out. Maybe that’s what Kendall needs.”
I shake my head. “She sounded pretty adamant that she couldn’t picture a future with me.”
Aidan sighs. “You know Kendall. She’s always sure of herself. She doesn’t waver. She doesn’t like to show weakness. You can’t blame her for being skittish about getting into a serious relationship after all the crap she’s been through in her past relationships. And I know you’re a good guy. I know you wouldn’t treat her like her exes did. But she’s been hurt. A lot. It’s hard to be optimistic about something when all you know is hurt and disappointment.”
I’m quiet as I think about what my brother has said. He makes a good point.
“I guess I told you all that because I know what it feels like when the person you care about doesn’t want to take that next step with you. It fucking kills,” Aidan says. “But maybe that’s not what’s going on with Kendall. Maybe she just needs more time.”
A tiny flicker of hope sparks in my chest. But as quickly as it comes, it fades.
“It’s really fucking hard to be hopeful right now,” I say.
“I know the feeling. I’m sorry.”
We finish our beers in silence. I go to pay, but Aidan takes care of it.
We walk out of the bar together and down the street where we’re both parked.
He claps me on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
Aidan gives me a sad smile before getting into his car. As I drive home, I get a call from the realtor I hired to help me look for a new place.
“Do you have time to stop by and check out this property that just came on the market?” he asks. “It’s a spacious townhome like the one you live in now, but there’s a two-car garage and it’s three floors.”
