“Just curious. You can tell me to mind my own business.”
He studied me for a moment, as if weighing the possibilities. “Do I get to ask how you ended up with a guy like Gryphon Winters?”
“That’s fair.” I shrugged. There was no reason to hide this from Scott. “It took me a while to figure out that I liked theideaof a steady boyfriend more than the guy. Our relationship was off-again, on-again for months. Then my brother got sick. I needed someone to lean on, and Gryphon was familiar. So we got back together last fall.”
“Did he know about Sean?”
“I didn’t want Gryphon to know. That was the clue I needed to finally break things off for good.” I gave Scott a “your turn” look.
He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “I’m not sure what to say about Monica. I don’t understand what I want.”
“How long has it been since you split?”
“She dumped me on Christmas Day.”
Wow. It was the same day we learned how sick my brother was, that he was terminal. Who knew Christmases could be so full of bad memories?
Scott stared in my general direction, yet he didn’t really see me. “Monica didn’t think I was trying hard enough.” His voice was soft. Almost halting, as if he were speaking to himself. “She said that she was doing all the work.”
“Was she right?”
He nodded slowly. “Around Thanksgiving, my attitude about life began to change. Dad and I were gearing up for the Christmas season. There were a lot of people who had contracted with us to decorate the outside of their houses. I was fitting them into the schedule and managing most of the business details. And it hit me that I wasn’t reallyinhigh school anymore. I was on my way out. It was time to think about what came next for me. Would it be college? Working full-time? Monica had another year to go. The stuff she picked to do just didn’t seem important anymore. She had all of these plans, and I wasn’t remotely interested.”
“Why didn’t you break up with her?”
“She hadn’t done anything wrong. It seemed like...” He looked at me. “Hurting her seemed worse than drifting along in a relationship I wasn’t completely into.”
“What does she want now?” I already knew the answer, but I was curious about what he would say. Or not say.
“She’d like to get back together. My gut reaction was no, but I’ve been reconsidering. She’s so easy to be with. Sweet, kind, and smoking –” He choked on a cough.
“Pretty?”
A tiny dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah.”
“Do you have the time to invest in a relationship?”
“There’s that, too. As long as there’s sunlight, I have to be outside, working. Even on Saturdays. If she wants to do anything during the day, I can’t go. And after dark, I’d prefer to be lazy and end things by ten. I need a good night’s sleep.”
The decision felt clear to me, but he had to arrive at the correct conclusion by himself. “So you’re saying you’re not too much fun to date.”
“That’s what I’m saying.” His smile was wide.
I took another sip of my coffee and stole a look at the grandfather clock in the corner. Time was almost up. “How do you plan to cram college classes into your schedule?”
“Try to take as many of them online or at night as possible. I’m not really worried about that, though. Dad will cut me some slack. I think he’s more committed to me getting a degree than I am.” He glanced at his watch and stood. “I’ve gotta go. Thanks for meeting me here.”
I stood too. “Sure.”
“Okay. Well, bye.” He’d exited through the door before I’d grabbed my purse.
“Hey, Sara.” Kimberley had crossed to me, hardly waiting until the door had clicked shut. “What was that all about?”
“Coffee.” Her eagerness had me adding, “Nothing more.”
“Could it ever be?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not ready for anything serious.” And neither was he.
