“Not as much as I would’ve liked.”
No doubt. He could tell she was stalling for time, trying to find a way to bring up Nick’s visit. Maybe he should just put her out of her misery. But before he could open his mouth, she spoke.
“So listen, Connor. I wanted to tell you about... Well, Nick came to see me this afternoon—my ex-boyfriend.”
Connor dug the toe of his sandal through the sandy soil, making a deep horizontal line. “That so? What did he want?”
“Well... I guess mainly he wanted to apologize for his behavior.”
Apologize for cheating on her? For stealing her promotion? For manipulating her emotions? How did one go about such a feat?
“And how’d that go over?”
She breathed a laugh, ducked her head. “It was good to hear, I’ll admit, after waiting all these weeks. Not that I’d been holding my breath, mind you. But I’m working on the forgiveness part, and knowing he’s sorry helps. I’ll get there eventually.”
He searched her face, desperate to know what was going on in her head. He had a feeling there’d been a whole lot more to their conversation.
“Is that all he wanted?”
With her toes she extended the line he was drawing in the sand. “No. Actually, it wasn’t.”
He braced himself. Drew another line parallel to the one he’d drawn before.
“He said he knows of a job opportunity for me.”
He slanted a look her way, unable to stop himself from saying, “Didn’t he steal your last one?”
She helped him with his line, their toes touching for a brief instant. “A friend of his is opening a restaurant in Charlotte. The chef’s well known, and it seems like a promising opportunity. It’s the GM position—same one I was trying to get at Pirouette.”
“A friend of Nick’s? That doesn’t concern you?” He couldn’t keep the disbelief from his voice.
“I’d have to meet the man and judge for myself if he’s someone I’d want to work for, of course.”
He scratched his neck.
“I have to consider this, Connor. I don’t have another offer yet, and my savings are dwindling.”
He clamped his lips together and dug a vertical line with more force than necessary. He didn’t want to think about her having a connection to that dirtbag, even a professional one. And he couldn’t help but think this job opportunity was just Nick’s way of trying to manipulate his way back into her life.
“Is that all he wanted?” Connor squeezed the words past the ache in his throat. Part of him wished he could call back the question. Especially when a lengthy pause ensued.
Maddy finished the line in the sand. They’d made a tic-tac-toe grid.
“He said he misses me. But that was about the extent of that conversation.”
His heart skipped a beat as he stared off to the darkened horizon. He forced a casual tone. As if her answer wouldn’t break his heart a little. “And you, Maddy? Do you miss him?”
She turned toward Connor. He could feel the heat of her gaze on the side of his face. He surrendered to it, turning to meet her eyes. The breeze tousled her hair, teased him with her sweet scent. She made his heart ache.
“No. I don’t miss him.” Her lips turned up a little, searching his eyes. “I don’t miss him at all.”
His breath left his body in a quietwhoosh. That was all he needed to hear. What he’d longed to hear all night, ever since he’d seen her and Nick on the beach.
She looked down at the sand and drew a circle in one of the corner spaces.
He smiled at her action, feeling almost giddy inside. He didn’t want to play games. They were on the same team. He drew a circle in the opposite corner.
She gave him a look of surprise, then her eyes twinkled in the darkness. She drew a circle in the center square.
