Page 49 of Then Came You

“But you knew him. You talked to him?”

He nodded. “A few times. He mentioned Cocoa and…you.”

Gillian covered her mouth with her hand, and her eyes filled with tears. He hated doing this to her, but he’d promised to be honest. She probably would have had the same reaction even if he’d told her sooner, but that didn’t make it any easier.

“He showed me a picture of you once and mentioned that you were opening a bookstore. He was really proud of you.”

Gillian bent her head, presumably so he wouldn’t see her crying.

“It was terrible what happened to him. We all felt horrible about it.” His voice cracked, and he took a moment to collect himself.

Then she popped her head up. “Wait a minute. Does that mean…? Were you…were you at his funeral?”

He slowly nodded, and she abruptly pushed herself out of the chair and started pacing.

“You were at Owen’s funeral, and you never said anything? When were you going to tell me, Sam? Huh? When?”

She paused right in front of him, her hands threaded through her hair and her face tear-stained.

His instinct was to stand up and wrap his arms around her, but he doubted she’d let him, not now and maybe never again.

“Gillian, listen to me. I wanted to tell you. I almost did a dozen different times, but something always came up that prevented me from doing it.”

“Something came up? That’s your excuse?”

She took a couple steps back, and he sensed that he would lose her completely if he didn’t do something drastic. He rose from the couch, but he didn’t reach for her.

“I never meant to hurt you. In fact, that’s partly why I never brought it up. I knew it would be a painful subject, and I didn’t want to upset you.”

She stared at him for a few beats and shook her head. “A painful subject? You have no idea how painful it was. I lost the man who meant the most to me—the man I was going to marry. This is his house you’re standing in, his dog you give treats to, his fiancée you—”

Sam held up his hand. “Don’t. Don’t compare us to you and Owen. I’m not trying to compete with him. I understand that he’ll always have a place in your heart. But that doesn’t mean we can’t—”

“Can’t what? Kiss? Have sex? Is that what you want from me, Sam?”

He shoved his hands in his hair and looked down at the floor. The conversation was getting away from him, and he wasn’t sure how to get it back on track.

“When were you planning on telling me, Sam? You pride yourself on being honest, so be honest with me now.”

He raised his head, and his gaze met her eyes, which were brimming with tears. He longed to reach for her, to make things right again, but he had no idea how. He was lost.

“I don’t know.”

They stood and stared at each other in awkward silence while Cocoa looked up at them from his resting spot. Then she broke the silence.

“You need to leave.”

“Gillian…”

“I mean it, Sam. Please leave.”

He wouldn’t argue with her anymore. She’d made up her mind, and there was nothing he could do or say to change it.

He moved past her without touching her and paused when he reached the front door. She was still standing in the middle of the room with her back to him.

“I didn’t lose a fiancée, but I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. I also know that it’s tough to move on. I hope you’ll be able to move on someday, even if it’s not with me.”

He waited for a few seconds, but she didn’t turn around or speak. Then he opened the door and went out, shutting it firmly behind him.