“You left me on the side of the road, at night, thirty minutes from home.”
“Yeah, I was pissed off,” he said, and his voice was sullen rather than defensive.
“And then you angry texted me half a dozen times.”
“I was pretty drunk. I don’t remember most of those.”
I took a deep breath. “You know what, I have no reason to hold a grudge. Thank you for apologizing. I accept.”
He smiled. “Good. I’m glad we got that out of the way.”
I was too. I smiled back, feeling like that had been a success. We’d seen each other, cleared the air, and now it was over. I wasn’t going to dread running into him in public.
“Is this the paperwork?” I slid it in front of me. It was an agreement stating that I was moving out and, surprisingly, that I didn’t owe any additional rent or utilities. I dug a pen out of my purse and signed.
“Now we can both move on.” I pushed it back toward Sean.
I noticed someone at the bar and did a double take. Theo sat on one of the stools. He looked over his shoulder and gave me a quick wink. My stomach fluttered and a flush hit my cheeks.
For a hot second, I forgot what I was doing there and started to stand, as if I were being drawn by gravity into Theo’s orbit.
“Penelope, wait.”
Sean’s voice startled me. Blinking in surprise, I looked at him.
“I know I was angry before and I didn’t handle it well. You took me by surprise. But I think all this…” He gestured between the two of us. “It’s a big mistake.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve had time to go over what happened, and I realized I didn’t give you a chance to think things through.”
“Think what through?”
“Us. Where we’re headed.”
“We’re not headed anywhere. We broke up.”
“It was a heated moment. Did you really consider the implications?”
“I don’t think I understand what you’re getting at.”
He rested his forearm on the table and leaned forward. “Are you sure leaving a solid long-term relationship when you’re in your mid-thirties is a good idea?”
My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. For a second, I was so shocked, I couldn’t seem to make any words come out.
“Excuse me?” was all I managed.
“I’m not trying to be a jerk here. It’s just reality. I’m a guy who makes good money and who’ll eventually take over a business. I’m stable. I’m not going to have any problem finding someone. But you? The cute nerd girl thing you have going on isn’t going to last forever.”
“What are you saying? I have an expiration date?”
“I don’t make the rules. It’s not my fault the world works this way.” His expression softened. “You made a rash decision, and I want to give you the chance to come back before it’s too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“Let’s just be real about all this, babe. I’m giving you another chance. You should take it. Come home.” He gestured to the form I’d signed. “I can rip that up right now.”
“Why? Because no one else could possibly want me?”
