“Nothing.” I drain the rest of my drink and reach for the bottle. “I can’t do anything. She’s made her feelings clear, and I’m not going to push. I don’t want to derail her life. I did that once before, and I swore I’d never hurt her again.”
“What about you? When do you get to prioritizeyou?”
I shrug, pouring more bourbon into both our glasses. “This isn’t about me. It never has been.”
“Don’t do this, Callan.” He eyeballs me as I drink from my glass. “Don’t give up without a fight. Isn’t she worth fighting for?”
“Of course, she is, but she doesn’t want me. She wants him.”
“You don’t know that for sure. She’s been blindsided the same way you have.”
“The difference is she still thinks I did her dirty.”
“Which is why you need to tell her. The truth has the power to change everything.”
“Or nothing.” Astrid is probably right about that. “We’re different people now, and what happened changed both of us. I need to let her go. It’s what’s best for her.”
“Do you really believe that? No bullshitting, man. Search your heart. Is that really what you want?”
I don’t have to think about it for long. I swallow over the lump in my throat before shaking my head. “Of course, it isn’t. I still love her. Seeing her today only reconfirmed what I’ve always known. It’s her or no one.”
“Then please don’t give up. You deserve to be happy, Callan. More than anyone I know, you deserve that. She might wear his ring, but she’s not married to him yet. There is still time. She fell in love with you once before. It could happen again.”
“When did you turn into such a sap?” I tease, needing to lighten the mood before I do something epically pathetic like cry.
“I learned from the best.” He drills me with a look, and I laugh, which is a fucking miracle when it feels like my heart is shredded in my chest.
“Iwasa fucking sap, wasn’t I?”
“You were in love, and you wanted to give her the world. There is no shame in that.”
“We were so good together. So perfect.”
“You could have that again. Say you’ll at least think about it?”
“I can’t do anything, Trav. The ball has got to be in her court. I’ve thrown out the bait. It’s up to Astrid now if she wants to bite.”
61
ASTRID
“How does he look?” Paige asks as I lie on the couch, nursing a glass of white wine.
“I’m not answering that.” I’ve been trying to banish the image of his gorgeous face from my mind since the second I walked through my front door.
“I’ll just Google him. I bet there’s a picture of him on the company website.”
“You do that, and while you’re at it, try to remember how you’re supposed to be rooting for the man I’m actually with, not the one who tossed me aside like trash for my best friend.”
“Except it seems now like he didn’t,” she quietly replies. “Or have you forgotten what his parting words were to you tonight?”
“Hardly.” I gulp down a large mouthful of wine. “It’s been playing on a loop in my brain ever since. Why did he have to be so cryptic?”
“Was he cryptic though? It sounded pretty straightforward to me. He said he didn’t cheat on you.”
“Then how do you explain his daughter?”
“I have my theories, but I’m not sharing them. You should talk to him, Astrid.”
