Page 164 of The Best Thing He Never Wanted

He cocked one eyebrow. “See, now I don’t know if you’re using moussaka to distract me from whatever’s going on with you or trying to tempt me into bed.”

She laughed at the memory of the last time they’d made moussaka together. “You know I’m always eager to tempt you into bed, darling.”

“And you know I’m always eager to go with you. But don’t shut me out, Bea. What were you thinking just then? What made you sad?”

She looked down at Sifis, who had come to sit beside her feet and was leaning his weight against her leg.

“Oh, it was nothing.”

“Bea.”

She sighed.

“Tell me.”

“Oh, all right. But it really was only a thought. It doesn’t mean anything. I’m only telling you because you caught me thinking it and apparently my face betrayed me.”

“Just say it, Bea.”

“It was when I mentioned how sad Sifis was when you walked away from him. I remember it so clearly. I walked back toward the car thinking you were beside me, and then realized you weren’t because you’d stopped…” She closed her eyes briefly. “You’d turned around to look back and say goodbye to him.”

“Yeah.” Blane was still frowning.

She let out a breath. “It simply reminded me. That’s all.”

“Reminded you of what?”

“Of the day I dropped you off at the airport. I…”

He came to squat in front of her and rested one hand on her knee. “Don’t, Bea. I know what you’re going to say, and I can explain.”

“You don’t need to explain. There’s nothing—”

“Hear me out?”

“Oh, all right, then.”

“You think the day I left, I never looked back.”

She dropped her gaze and nodded. “And I know it’s silly. It’s petty, really, and it doesn’t—”

“It does.”

She looked at him.

“It matters. It mattered to you then, and it matters to me that you thought that.” He rubbed his hand over her knee. “I didn’t look back because I didn’t need to.”

She inhaled sharply.

“Shit. That sounded wrong, but you know I don't mean it like that. I didn't need to look back because there was a line of mirrored panels inside the terminal—I could see you the whole way.”

Her breath caught. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” He held her gaze. “I watched you until I couldn’t see you anymore.”

Something deep inside her seemed to soften. “Well.”

His mouth twitched, but he didn’t look away. “I didn’t turn around because if I had, I wasn’t sure I’d keep walking. And I wasn’t gonna turn around and ask you to wait for me while I figured out what the hell I was doing.”