"You had so much time to reach back out, Eric," I murmured.
"Would you have taken my call? Heard me out? Or would you have called me every name under the sun?" He gave me a knowing smile.
"Fine, maybe you're right there," I grumbled.
"You're a fiery woman and not one to be wronged. I know that much, Ivy. But I'm trying here. I want to prove to you it meant something, our time together," he said carefully as he took my hand. "I wanted to take you out, actually. There's this place downtown with outdoor seating and—" He paused. "But I also wanted to just be with you. Without the rest of the world interrupting. So I compromised."
Something in my chest loosened, but I couldn't quite let go of the fear. "Eric, what is this? What are we doing?"
"Eating breakfast?"
"You know what I mean." I pulled my knees to my chest. "What's your plan here? Show up, sleep with me, bring mebagels, and then what? You disappear again when things get complicated?"
He set the coffee down and turned to face me fully. "I don't have a plan."
"That's not reassuring."
"I know." He glanced out the window like he might find the right words hidden out there. "I know it's not. But it's the truth. I saw you at that bar, and everything I'd been trying to bury for four years just... surfaced. I couldn't stop thinking about you. Couldn't focus on anything else. That means something, I know it does."
"Some cosmic fate, huh?" I smirked.
"Who knows." He managed a slight shrug.
"So you stalked me? Interrupted my date last night?" I arched a brow at him.
"Happy coincidence.” A ghost of a smile crossed his face.
Right. Coincidence. I didn't believe in those. Not twice.
"Right. Then you followed me home."
"You were mad and wouldn't give me a chance to talk to you. So yes, I followed you. But then went and got flowers first. Figured I could use them to shield myself a bit if you tried to punch me." This time he did smile, and I rolled my eyes. "I just needed to talk to you. To explain, even though I knew you had every right to tell me to fuck off." He reached for my hand again, and I let him take it. "I've thought about you often since I left, Ivy. Wondered if you were okay, if you hated me, if you'd moved on. I hoped you had, honestly. Hoped you'd found someone who could give you everything I couldn't."
"I didn't," I said quietly.
"I know." His thumb traced circles on my palm. "And I'm selfish enough to be glad about that, even though I shouldn't be."
I wanted to pull my hand away. Wanted to protect myself, build walls, keep him at a distance where he couldn't hurt me again.
But his touch was familiar and warm, and the look in his eyes was so earnest it made my chest ache.
"I want to believe you," I admitted. "But I'm scared, Eric. I'm scared that I'm going to let you in and you're going to leave again, and I don't know if I can survive that twice."
"I can't promise I won't fuck this up." His voice was low but honest. "I can't promise that my life won't get complicated or that things won't get hard. But I can promise that if I have to leave, I'll tell you. I won't just disappear. And I'll come back. Whatever it takes, I'll come back."
I searched his face for the lie, for the crack that would tell me this was too good to be true.
All I saw was sincerity and hope and something that looked dangerously close to love.
"The bagels are getting cold," I said finally.
He blinked. "What?"
"You said you got bagels." I nodded toward the bag. "They're getting cold."
A slow smile spread across his face, and my heart did a stupid little flip.
"Right." He reached for the bag. "Can't have that."
