“Oh, no.” I reach over to squeeze Geoff’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe it. I really thought this was it, you know?”
“What made you think that?”
Geoff shrugs, nudging his glasses up his nose. “Just a feeling. A feeling here”—he taps his chest—“that’s hard to describe.”
I stare at Geoff’s chest, thinking about the way my own chest fills with that warm, tingly feeling around Myles. Meeting Geoff’s sad gaze again, I push the thought away. I can’t let myself think about that right now.
“He made me laugh, and it just felt like hegotme.” Geoff sets his cup down with a humorless laugh. “Still, it seems like he’s alsogettinghalf of Manhattan, too.”
A coffee is placed in front of me and I direct a grateful smile to the barista, before fixing my attention back on Geoff. “What did he say when you confronted him?”
“Oh, I haven’t spoken to him yet. I’m going to go do that after this. I just wanted to see a friendly face first, find my strength.” He gives me a weak smile and I squeeze his arm again.
“Are you sure he was with this other guy romantically? Because if you haven’t actually spoken to him—”
“Yeah, I think so. He had his arm around him.”
“Is that all?” I ask, surprised by the doubt in my voice. Okay, if I saw a guy I was dating with his arm around another woman, I’d be livid. But somehow, talking to Geoff about this objectively, I can’t help but wonder if maybe he misread things.
Wow. When did I become such an optimist?
“I’m sure, Cat. I saw them and I know in my gut.”
I survey Geoff’s face. More of that certainty, that knowing that everyone seems to have—everyone but me. But then, Geoff was just saying heknewthat this guy was the one, and now he’s saying heknowswhat he saw… How reliable is this knowing, anyway? What does anyone really know?
Despite everything, I feel a smile on my lips as I think of Myles. I’m sure this is a philosophical question he’d love to pick apart.
“What are you smiling about?” Geoff asks, glaring at me through his misery.
Whoops.
“Nothing, sorry. Just thinking about… something else.”
“More than anything,” Geoff says, “I’m just starting to feel like I can’t even trust my own feelings.”
I stop, setting my coffee down. “What?”
“Well, I thought he was this great guy—like, I felt really certain. Now I don’t know what to think.”
I nod vigorously. “Yes, I know what you mean. With Myles—” Shit, shit, shit.Stop. “Sorry,” I backtrack. “This is about you. Keep going.”
But Geoff’s interest is piqued. “Myles?”
“Nothing.”
He gives me a pointed look. “Come on, I’m suffering here. Give me something else to think about.”
“Fine,” I mumble. “I… slept with him again. Last night.”
Geoff slaps a hand down on the table and I jump. “Again!? Is that what you were ‘caught up’ with this morning?” He can’t resist a devilish smile.
“Yes. I wascaught upwith trying to get him out of my house. He wanted to stay and talk, blah, blah, blah. He’s all about talking.”
“How awful,” Geoff says sardonically. “And yet Mark hated to talk.”
I grind my jaw.Well played, Geoff.“Yeah, okay, you were right. He’s nothing like Mark. At the dinner party last night—”
