“Mostly.” She doesn’t need to know about me losing my shit back there. It’s like everything I’ve known has unraveled, and it feels both exhilarating and terrifying. Like playing jump rope with a live wire.
“Well, I’m happy to see you.”
“Yeah, I’m happy to see you too.” I stop and turn to face her so suddenly she has to backtrack a step. “I need to tell you that I’m seeing someone.”
“You’re …” The light behind her eyes dims. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve met someone, and I’ve fallen for him. It sort of snuck up on me, but since I know how you feel, I wanted to make sure I told you first.”
“But I thought you weren’t dating. That you?—”
“I thought so too. That wasn’t bullshit.”
She takes a step back from me, chewing on her bottom lip like she can’t work out what to say. “It sort of feels like it was bullshit.”
“I know. Trust me, I know how it sounds. I really am sorry, because I do like you, but there was always something holding me back. Now I know it’s because I fell for him first.”
It’s like I can see the wheels turning behind her eyes. “Ziggy. It’s him, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
Her eyes fall closed on a defeated sigh. “When I saw you in the diner together. I couldn’t explain it, but something about you together made me uncomfortable. That’s why I came here last week. I thought if we could get more time together …”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah …” She swallows thickly. “Me too.”
“If it helps, you knew before I did. Which, if you knew me at all, you’d understand how weird that is.”
“No offense … but I really don’t want to talk about you and some other person.”
“Sorry.”
She braces against the word. “I’m just going to go.”
And this is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. Her, leaving here upset. Thinking there was a chance when there wasn’t.
But that’s not on me.
I’ve been clear from the start, and if Caroline didn’t want to listen … I can’t even blame her for it. Because I’ve been in her position too many times to count.
I know exactly how she’s feeling. Every relationship, every potential, each time someone showed interest, I clung to it until it was torn from my fingers. It’s also how I know that I’ve done the right thing for her.
I force myself to keep my mouth shut as I walk her back to the car and watch her leave.
Hopefully, one day, we can be friendly again, but at least I know I’ve done everything I could.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
ZIGGY
Caroline. Caroline. Caroline. Caroline.
Why can’t she ever leave us the fuck alone? I’m panting hard by the time I get back to my place, fists clenched tight, this unsettled anger rattling through my bones.
The second I saw her pull up and Kennedy walk off with her, I felt like I was going to explode. If I’d gone down into Old End, I would have confronted her, maybe yelled at her a little. Kennedy doesn’t need to see that, just like I didn’t need to see him happily taking a stroll with her.
