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How did he not have any regrets? Yes, what happened was the past, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a part of them. What they had was a good chunk of their life. It’s not like she could forget that. Could he?
She glanced up, catching his eyes and searching for the boy she once loved. She knew he was in there. “Do you ever think about us? About if…”
“No.” The word came out with force and no hesitation. Isla didn’t know what was worse, the single word said so emotionless, or if he’d reached into her chest and ripped out her heart, crushing the already broken organ to mush.
She couldn’t let it go so easily. It’d been three years of no answers, and now with him here in front of her, he had to give her something. Anything. “Not even a little? You have to wonder—”
“Wondering is a waste of time. It didn’t work out. No point in harping over it.”
She inhaled as if he’d knocked the wind out of her. “I guess we’re different in that aspect. You were the love of my life. I can’t help but think about what could have been.”
“Then you should have trusted me and not publicly accused me of cheating.”
Her lips parted, but no words came out. She’d already apologized, and clearly it meant nothing. There wasn’t anything left for her to say or do. He was over her, and it was time she moved on as well.
“Thank you for your help,” she said, doing her hardest to keep her expression even. “I won’t bother you again.”
She turned on her heel and didn’t look back.
Chapter 7
Nolan sat at his kitchen table with Milo, who had stopped by after he dropped Mrs. Wheeler off at home after her doctor’s appointment. Milo motioned toward Isla’s house.
“How’s it going with your neighbor?”
“Are we really going to sit around like a bunch of women gossiping?”
“Hey, with you gone and Jasper working all the time, I spent a lot of time gossiping with women. Kind of a hard habit to break. Besides, I’ve become a very good listener, so if you need an ear…”
Nolan shook his head as Milo cupped his ear. He’d always been a bit of a class clown, but it was also what made him so likeable.
“I tried to help her take mulch out of her car, but she refused my help and fell flat on her ass.”
Milo cracked a smile. “I’m surprised she didn’t just let you help her.”
“Right? I was standing right there and have a good seventy pounds on her. Why she didn’t just let me help her is beyond me.” Nolan thought about it for a second, replaying the scene in his head. “Though, she did say something about not being the same girl, whatever the hell that means.”
“Probably doesn’t want you to think she hasn’t changed.”
“Has she?” Nolan couldn’t help but ask.
“Depends. She is still Isla, fun loving and sweet with that crazy imagination of hers. But she’s much stronger than the girl you used to know. Maybe not physically as she demonstrated with that bag of mulch, but emotionally. She’s been through hell this last year, and she handled it with grace and dignity. Something not many people would have been able to do.”
Nolan understood without asking anymore questions. Isla stepped up when she needed to, and she did it on her own without anyone holding her hand. Maybe she wasn’t the same girl he knew, but like Milo said, that girl was still a part of her.
“And hey, if you want to help someone lift something then you can come down to Harper’s studio and help me move some furniture.”
“Is that why you really stopped by?” Nolan asked.
Milo shrugged. “Maybe.”
“All you had to do was ask. It’s not like I have anything else going on these days.” Nolan would jump on the opportunity to do anything other than drift around. He was so used to his days being jam-packed and structured. This new no-schedule life, he was discovering, wasn’t an easy thing for someone like him. He needed to keep busy and be on the go. If he wasn’t, he had too much time in his head, which is why his latest interaction with Isla weighed so heavily on his mind.
“Perfect!” Milo clapped his hands together. “You happen to be available now?”
Nolan laughed. “I might have to move sitting on the couch until after five, but yeah, I think I can fit you in.”
“Great, I’ll drive.”
