“We know enough.”
“For what?”
“To want to keep being friends.To work together.To see where things could lead.”
Her eyes shifted to his hand covering hers.“Before you say anything else,” she said, “I need to know.Are you still in love with Isabella?”
It was a fair question and one he’d been expecting.
“No, I’m not.”
“How can you be sure?”
“You mean, how can you believe me?”He slowly removed his hand but kept his eyes on hers.“You’ll have to believe it yourself, Libby.All I can say is that no, I’m not in love with her anymore.”
“But you still care for her.”
“Yes, I do.I can’t just stop caring for the woman I once wanted to marry, and despite how it might seem, Isabella is a good person.At least, I still believe she is.Is that wrong of me?”
Slowly, she shook her head.“I don’t think so.Maybe it was wrong of me to presume otherwise?I just thought you’d despise her, like I despised Elliot.”
“You were right to despise him.He emotionally abused you, Libby.He made you feel like you were worthless.”
A tear escaped and trickled down her cheek.She quickly wiped at it, but he’d seen enough to know that dark clouds loomed around her too sometimes.It was his turn to be the sunshine.“Forget that turd, Libby.He’s not worth your tears.He’s not even worth your hate.He’s gone.The end.”
“He’s been gone a long time, but…”
“The fear you might go through that again stays with you?”
“It’s more the fear that I’d be such a fool again,” she said.
“But you weren’t the fool last time.He was.”
“I guess.”She gave him a little smile and then picked up her fork.“This looks great.Thank you.”She ate a little and helped Karim with his food between mouthfuls.Once he was managing with his spoon, she studied her plate, and her brow wrinkled.“Now, I need to tell you something.I asked my friend Rick to find out if Alicia Hunter really is on her way to London.”
Dan swallowed his disappointment that they were back on the subject of Isabella and Hunter.“Why?”
“Finding stuff out like that is Rick’s thing, and I was going to contact her through her socials somehow.I wanted to give her a heads-up.”
“I already did,” Dan said.
“Oh.Right.Of course, you’re still in contact with her.”
“Not much.She’s messaged me a few times, that’s all.I’m sorry I didn’t say.”
“Look, it’s totally your business.”Libby stabbed her fork into her rice.“You don’t need to tell me everything.”
But he had the strangest compulsion to do just that.
“Hunter will look after her,” he said.
Libby scoffed.“You think they’re in love?”
“That’s what she said when she broke up with me.Hunter is making arrangements to leave his wife, and as soon as his existing prenups are settled, they’ll divorce.”
“Whoa.”Libby whistled.“That’s big news.”
Then she narrowed her eyes at him, realization dawning.He’d just breached the terms of the nondisclosure he’d signed, and by the way she was staring at him like that, surprised, Libby knew it too.“I won’t tell anyone,” she said.“I promise.”
