I shouldn’t have said that last part. It sounded too close to a confession. And after what she’d said before—about guys and pretty words—I probably sounded just like the kind of man she’d warned me about.
She blinked, like she was processing, then tilted her head and gave me that half-smirk I was starting to recognize as her defense mechanism. “You say that to all the girls you bring out here?”
The words were light, teasing on the surface, but there was a challenge under them. Almost like she was daring me to confirm what she already suspected: That this was just another act. I huffed a laugh, but it didn’t have much humor in it.
“Haven’t brought anyone out here in a long time.” Which was true. Too true. And maybe that was the problem. I looked out at the water for a beat, needing the space. I was supposed to be gettingherto talk, not peeling myself open like this. But damn if she didn’t make it feel like a fair trade.
“You always deflect like that?” I asked. “Make a joke so you don’t have to answer?”
She shrugged, not denying it. “You always pretend not to care when you do?”
That hit a little too close. “Touché,” I said, dragging a hand over my jaw. “Guess we’re both pretty good at hiding.”
Her eyes flicked up to mine and, for once, she didn’t look away. Didn’t smile. Didn’t smirk. Didn’t dodge. Just looked.Reallylooked. And that? That scared me more than anything else ever could’ve. Because I wasn’t sure which one of us she was about to expose first: herself…or me.
“What areyouhiding, Zane?”
Okay, so we’re exposingmefirst.
I looked away, letting the question settle in my chest like a stone tossed into the creek. I could lie. I could deflect just like she had. But that didn’t feel fair, not anymore.
“I don’t hate you,” I offered, quietly.
She snorted. “Liar.”
That pulled a reluctant smile from me. “Okay…Ididhate you,” I admitted, glancing over. “At first.”
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t speak.
“You just,” I paused and tossed the now mangled wildflower to the grass, “reminded me of things I’d been trying real hard to forget.”
Her interested expression softened, but I wasn’t done.
“The last girl I brought out here was my ex-fiancée.”
Thatgot her attention. “And how long ago was that?”
“A little over a year ago.” I hesitated. Squinted at the water, or maybe the memory. “We were supposed to get married that week.” A wry smile tipped my lips as I shot her a sideways glance. “You almost ran me over exactly a year to the day she left me.”
Andi went silent again, which somehow made it easier to keep going.
“There was no call. No goodbye. Just her engagement ring and a note on the nightstand I found the morning of, saying she’d fallen in love with someone else.” I let out a bitter breath and swallowed hard, shaking my head as a hollow chuckle escaped me. “Jesus, I sound like a bad country song.”
I stared out at the water again, willing the memory away.
“It’s crazy how you can spend so much of your life with someone and still have no idea who they really are.” I gave a hollow laugh. “We’d dated in high school, but after graduation she left. College out in Phoenix. But she came back a few years ago. Her car broke down outside the Rusty Spur. I helped her out and one thing led to another. It all felt familiar and…easy. Enough that it made me feel like maybe we could pick up where we left off.” I shrugged. “I figured that had to mean something.” A beat passed. “Guess it meant more to me than it did to her.” I exhaled and tipped my face to look at her. “So when you showed up, all mystery and trouble, I figured you were the same kind of mistake waiting to happen.”
Andi didn’t say anything right away. Just watched me with that look again—the one that stripped right through all my defenses.
“That’s…brutal. Being left by someone you loved with a note, not once buttwice,” she said finally, voice soft and understanding. “I’m so sorry, Zane.”
My head turned, just a little more as my curiosity piqued.
“Norah told me about your dad,” she went on. “I guess I just… I'm sorry it keeps happening to you.”
I shrugged like it didn’t still hurt to think about it. Like it hadn’t shaped damn near every decision since.
“Still doesn’t explain why you hated me,” she added, but there was none of that usual bite behind it.
