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“And what are those goals?”

“A fulfilling job, and a family. She liked to live in the moment, to race through her job and get to the weekend. When she told me she never wanted kids, I knew I needed to leave.”

“Was it hard?”

“Of course. But living a life I ultimately didn’t want would have been much harder.”

“How old were you, when you broke up?”

He chuckled. “That’s an interesting way to ask how old I am.”

“I didn’t—” She closed her eyes and smiled. “Okay, yeah, maybe it was.”

“I’m thirty-four,” he replied. “You?”

“Twenty-seven.” She brushed a hand against the soft grass. “That makes sense. You were a bit older than I was when you broke up and probably had a little more maturity in your relationship. Me, on the other hand…” She sighed. “One bad mistake after another.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I made mistakes,” he admitted. “I broke up with her and left abruptly, which wasn’t the kind way of doing things. But we need those mistakes. How else are we supposed to learn and grow?”

This man. Otto made it sound like Leo had too many secrets, so much that he didn’t want to share. Yet he was willingly opening himself up to her. She wondered what it was like to live with that kind of bravery. To live with the choices and mistakes you’d made and somehow move on and strive each and every day to be a little bit better.

“You’re sharing so much with me,” she admitted.

His gaze settled on her. Alana wasn’t sure if she would ever get used to those ice blue eyes, the way they could see right through to her soul. Yet there was something more in the way he looked at her tonight. He seemed earnest. Softer, somehow.

“I have nothing to hide, Alana.”

She swallowed. “I think we all have things we want to hide.”

“Not me. I share the hard things with the people who matter.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest. “I matter?”

He nodded slowly. “You, and the rest of your family.”

The pieces Leo offered of himself slotted into place in her head. “Are you searching for a family because you don’t have one of your own?”

“Sort of. I have parents back in Normandy. But it’s hard to have a relationship with people who are constantly disappointed in you.”

She scanned his face, searching for signs of hurt or disappointment. Instead, Leo seemed resigned to it. “I’m sorry,” she replied, meaning it.

He shook his head. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“Let me feel bad for you.”

Leo’s lips pulled into a grin, and it was quite honestly the most devastating sight. She felt a flutter in her stomach, her heart quickening its pace. Butterflies, she thought. I’m experiencing goddamn butterflies.

He poked her arm. “Your turn. Can I ask you something?”

She opened her mouth, ready to say how dare you. But she snapped it shut and nodded. Leo shared a deep part of himself. She could find the courage to do the same.

“What happened with Chris?” he asked.

She closed her eyes and hummed, then looked up at the sky. Everyone around her was aware of what happened with Chris. It seemed only fair that Leo was also filled in. “You likely picked up on the part that we dated until my mom died.”

“Mmhmm.”

“By that point we had been together six years. Mom was convinced we were going to get married. She used to pull all of these wedding pieces from old boxes. Her veil, the pearl clip she wore in her hair, the lace gloves she had on for the ceremony.” Alana licked her lips. “What I didn’t realize was that she was doing all of this, fully aware that she was dying. When she finally told me she was dying, I played along with the idea. I think it brought her a lot of joy to be able to feel like she could somehow still be a part of that day. Chris and I even discussed having a small ceremony while she was still alive.