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“Shit, Rock.” She presses back against her chair. “I knew it was bad but not this bad. And you’re the one who broke up with her?”
“Yes. I told you.”
“You did.” She narrows her gaze. “And it’s finally time to tell me why. Please.”
“She started creeping around the house. Pale. Like she didn’t want to be there. Scared of me, scared of telling me something.”
“Just like last time,” she says. She was there to pick up the pieces. She knew how badly the breakup affected me.
Her words echo in my mind. “Just like last time,” I agree. “And so, I broke it off before she could.”
Her brow knits in frustration. “You didn’t even ask her what was going on?”
“Nope. Aren’t you proud? I cut if off before she could. Saved you from the two weeks of me falling down drunk on your couch every night while you nursed me through my breakup.”
“You didn’t talk to her?” she asks.
“No. I told you?—”
She leans forward, a hand shooting out over the table, and a punch lands on my shoulder. “You idiot! How can you be so self-absorbed?”
“Damn,” I say, rubbing my arm. “What was that for?”
“For your typical male self-absorption.” She gives an angry shake of her head. “That a girl’s having a hard week and you assume it’s all about you? How about instead of breaking up with the sweet thing, you give her a safe space to open up? Maybe a shoulder to cry on if she needs it.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’ve been through this before. I know that’s what was happening. She was pulling away.”
“What if it’s not? You’re letting your hurt, your pain from your past relationship possibly ruin the one good thing that’s happened in your love life since you had your heart broken.” She grabs my shoulders, giving me a hard shake. “Rockwell, what if she was the one?”
“She was,” I say. “The one.”
Claudia pops up from her seat, her chair flying out from behind her. “If she’s the one… we’ve got to find her! You have to tell her before it’s too late.”
I try to squash the hope that Claudia’s face is making me feel. “It already is.”
“How? Why?” She grabs her purse from the back of her chair, pulling the strap over her shoulder. She takes my arm, pulling me up. “Come on.”
I rise, still unsure of everything that’s happening. “She’s getting married. I saw her on the way here, wearing a wedding dress outside of Daughtry’s.”
Claudia eyes me suspiciously. “She can’t be. It’s too soon. You’ve only just broken up.”
“I saw what I saw,” I say.
She pulls me through the café. “You also came here straight from a whiskey party. You must have been seeing things.”
We walk through the door onto the sidewalk. I pull her to a stop, facing her. “I know what I saw. I’m too late.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she shakes her head. “Can’t be. Not possible. I saw how much she liked you. Love, I would even say.”
Claudia’s words stun me. “You think she loved me?” I ask.
She puts a hand on my shoulder, locking eyes with me. “Yes. I think she did. She can’t have moved on that fast.”
“Wait…” A thought pops in my head, dredging up dread from the acid pool of my stomach. “That’s probably why she was so pale, why she was avoiding me. She was already with the other guy. The one she’s marrying.”
“No.” Claudia shakes her head. “No way. She’s not like that. She’s too sweet to cheat.” Holding her hand in the air, she snaps her fingers. “Hey—that’s cute. Could be a country song.” Claudia breaks out off-key, “She’s tooooo sweet to cheat on meee.”
“Stop. God. Please. Stop singing.”
