It was my turn to whisper. “Who did you marry?”
Mia sighed. “Some arsehole who promised me the world.”
“What happened?”
“He didn’t have it.”
“Are you still married?”
Mia twined her fingers with mine and stared at our joined hands as though hers belonged to someone else. “Why does that matter to you?”
“I’m curious.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Why? You haven’t been curious about me in ten years.”
“That’s not true.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Of course it is. You’ve never asked Gus about me the whole time you’ve been back.”
“Asking Gus questions isn’t a barometer of how I feel.”
Mia reclaimed her hand and folded her arms. A breeze made her shiver, and I felt every shudder as it passed through her slender torso. “I wrote you a letter once. The Navy returned it.”
I said nothing, too chicken to admitthat it had beenmewho’d sent the postcard-sized envelope straight back to Rushmere the moment it had reached me on the other side of the world. That I hadn’t even opened it, let alone read whatever had been inside. “What did it say?”
“What do you care?”
“Harsh.”
“Yeah. It was.”
We were no longer talking about letters. I shifted in my seat and fought the urge to stare at the table.Guilt burned a path from my soul to my heart, but I held her gaze. “Just say it, Mia. Call me a selfish bastard and get it over with.”
“I’ve never called you selfish.”
“Liar.”
Her answering smile was unexpected. “Well, okay...maybe a few times, but not for the reasons you think.”
“You don’t know what I think.”
“Don’t I?”
“No, and that’s your problem. Assumption is dangerous.”
“Nah, emotion is dangerous, Luke. You taught me that.”
Boom. I sucked in a breath. “You don’t understand.”
“You never gave me a chance.”
“A chance to what? Scream at me all the way to the recruitment office?”
She shook her head. “You lied to me.”
