“I don’t like to talk about it.”
“When and who?”
“My college boyfriend. I went to San Diego State and we met there. He was local. We fell in love and he proposed. That time I said yes.” She sighed at the memories. “We were making plans. I had really liked living in San Diego, so I was happy to look for jobs there. In fact I was thinking of settling there even before he proposed.”
She looked at him. “Jax totally pitched a fit because she wanted me to move back home, so to make her stop sending me real estate listings here in town, I also applied to Port Palmas Elementary.”
His dark gaze was steady. “What happened?”
“One of those cliché moments. I caught him in bed with one of my friends. It wasn’t the great drama of finding him with my best friend, but it was pretty bad. So I took the job here, packed my stuff and left San Diego. You know the rest.”
“Serial dating, looking for the one, and then you met Dustin and the rest is, well, you know.”
“Thanks for the recap and you’re right. Yes. A bunch of guys who weren’t that special.”
“Was Dustin special?”
An excellent question. “I thought he was but apparently he wasn’t.”
The tears returned and this time she couldn’t will them away. “What’s wrong with me?” she asked as she cried into her hands.
“Nothing. You’re perfect.”
That made her glare at him. “I’m not perfect. No one is perfect. A perfect person would have said yes to Dustin.”
“But you’re not in love with him.”
“I am. Don’t say that. This is me in love.”
“This is you saying no to the dress.”
Despite everything, she had to smile. “Your secret obsession with reality TV is very troubling.”
“To both of us. I’ve tried to quit, but I have to know what happens next.”
“I won’t tell. I swear.”
“Thank you.” He nodded at her. “You’ve stopped crying.”
“For now. There’ll be more tears later. And ice cream. And possibly therapy.” She sighed. “I screwed up my life.”
“You made a brave choice.”
“I don’t feel brave. I feel stupid and empty. I feel like I’m moving further away from what I want.” She wiped her face. “Maybe this is a sign from the universe. Maybe I’m supposed to learn from this lesson. I’ve been doing the same thing over and over. Meeting someone, dating them, having the relationship fall apart. Maybe I should make a bold move and completely turn my life around.”
“I’m all for the bold move,” he told her. “But if you don’t date someone, how are you going to fall in love and get married?”
“Oh, right.” There was that. “But I could still make the bold move. Change careers. Move to New Zealand.”
He winced. “I’d miss you a lot if you moved to New Zealand, and you love teaching. I’m not sure any other career would make you as happy.”
“So I could move somewhere closer than New Zealand.”
“Like?”
“San Diego.”
He studied her for a second. “You didn’t even have to think about that.”
