Lily’s mouth tightened.
I knew that look.
That was Lily wanting to say something unkind about a man she had once liked because I was hurt and she loved me more.
I beat her to it.
“He’s not wrong.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“He gave her a ring. He made a promise. Maybe he’s trying to be a decent man.”
“Being decent to one woman by breaking another one is a questionable strategy.”
“I’m not his responsibility.”
“You are not his casualty either.”
That shut me up.
The supply room hummed around us.
Somewhere in the hall, a cart rattled past.
I looked down at my hands. Clean now. No blood. No gloves. No proof that those hands had been inside the worst night of my life, helping keep Dylan alive while my heart tried to crawl out of my chest.
“I’m not Mandy,” I said.
Lily’s face changed.
“I know.”
“No, I need to say it.” My voice shook despite my effort to steady it. “I am not going to chase a man wearing another woman’s promise. I am not going to stand in some doorway waiting for him to decide I’m worth hurting her for. I’m not going to turn love into an excuse for selfishness.”
“You loving him isn’t selfish.”
“Acting on it might be.”
“That depends on him too.”
“Exactly.” I looked up. “And he made his choice tonight.”
Lily opened her mouth.
I shook my head.
“He did. Maybe not forever. Maybe not cleanly. But he made one. Georgia is in that room. I am in this supply closet. That tells me what I need to know.”
Lily’s eyes filled behind her glasses.
I hated making Lily cry.
It felt like kicking a bunny that knew pharmacology.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“My job.”
