We sit in the front, our bodies twisted towards each other.
‘Have you slept with her?’ I ask in barely more than a whisper.
I know I have no right to ask this – that was our deal:Ifyou’re single and I’m single…I don’t expect you to wait for me… We made no promises, evenI’vebeen on dates. It’s not his fault that they never went anywhere.
But Finn may have made a connection with someone on a deeper level.
He doesn’t speak. His slight nod and pained expression say it for him.
‘Oh God.’ I face forward and hunch over, burying my face in my hands.
‘I’m sorry,’ he whispers.
‘Is it serious?’ I ask into the footwell.
When he hesitates, I straighten up and look at him.
He swallows, his face ashen. ‘It might be,’ he admits.
‘Oh God.’ I bury my head in my hands again. ‘Is this it for us?’
‘Liv,’ he says wretchedly, placing his hand on my back.
That’s all he says, so I force myself to look at him again. His face is racked with agony.
‘Do you love her?’ I almost can’t bring myself to ask it.
He shakes his head, but it’s not an answer to my question, more a reluctance to even go there.
‘I care about you,so much,’ he says. ‘I miss you. You’re never far from my mind, but I want someone to share the highs and lows with all year round, not just in the summer. Until I met Brit, I didn’t realise how much I needed that.’
‘So you really talk to her? You open up to her?’
He nods and I think it hurts even more than knowing he’s had sex with her. If he’s not already in love with her, it’s definitely heading in that direction. Her hand has snaked around his heart and I want to reach in and prise off her fingers.
‘Why did you even come back?’ I ask, tears breaking free from my eyes.
‘Because I wanted to see you.’
‘Just to tell me that it’s over?’
‘Not necessarily.’
Hope fills my heart at the look in his eyes.
‘But we can’t keep going on like this,’ he says. ‘Something’s got to give.’
‘Are you moving back to Aggie then?’ I don’t know where my sarcastic tone has come from, but I can feel anger simmering in my gut.
‘You know I’m not,’ he replies quietly.
‘Well, you know I can’t leave.’
‘Why not?’ he asks me, and his question comes out sounding so reasonable that it makes my anger bubble up a little more.
‘What do you mean, why not? You’ve just seen why not! Your answer is right over there, in the car park!’
‘Michael doesn’t need you as much as you claim he does.’
