A figure stands in front of me for a moment, then slides into the booth. I look up. Walker sits there with his arms crossed over his chest.
He’s guarded. That’s fine. I can handle that. At least he showed up.
“Thanks for coming,” I say.
The waitress comes over and refills my coffee, then pours one for Walker.
“I’m doing it for my sister,” he clarifies, just in case I thought it had anything to do with our friendship.
I’m under no illusion that he and I are going to walk out of this restaurant buddy-buddy again.
I take a sip of the hot, freshly brewed coffee.
“Look, I know I messed up where our friendship is concerned.”
He laughs sarcastically.
“I’m not here to make you forgive me. Although I do hope that, in time, you will. I’m here to, first and foremost, apologize. I didn’t handle the situation the right way.”
“Understatement of the century.”
“I deserve that. For what it’s worth, I fought the attraction for months, desperate to do right by you. But I couldn’t stop myself from falling in love with her. I think I knew the moment she walked into my office for her interview. Now, I’m not here to fight with you over this.”
He leans forward. “Good. Because I’m not here to forgive. I’ve watched you treat love like a joke. One-night stands. Ghosting.Laughing at anybody who believes in love. Then I see you with my sister? Yeah, I’m going to freak out.”
He throws those words in my face, but he was right there with me, doing the same. I’m sure he would like to be given the chance if the roles were reversed. Though I know I would be the same way.
That’s why I’m willing to be patient with him.
“I get it. I’ve never done anything to make you believe that I’m the commitment type. I don’t expect you to walk out of here, believing me. What I am asking is for a chance. Not for me, but for Eva. For our baby—yourniece or nephew.”
Did I just stoop to the level of using the uncle card?Yes. Whatever it takes to make this right for Eva.
He runs a frustrated hand through his hair. “I thought our friendship was stronger than that. Why didn’t you come to me first?”
My breath catches for a moment. It’s a fair question. “That’s hard to explain. I was in a constant state of denial about my feelings for her. I was terrified of them.”
“Why? Why are you so afraid of them?”
“Iwasafraid of them,” I clarify. “It’s not easy, and I know I have to work on it, but I’m not afraid anymore. Not like I was.”
“Really? You expect me to believe your entire viewpoint on love, one you’ve held for over a decade since I’ve known you, altered in the matter of months?”
“I called my mom,” I admit as I pull at my neck, feeling exposed. “We talked about my dad and his affair—their divorce. I held alot of false beliefs about myself because of what my father had done.”
He tilts his head to the side. “You didn’t tell me about any of that.”
“You knew about my parents’ divorce.”
“Yeah, the divorce. The rest is news to me.”
A rush of heat crawls up the back of my neck. “I didn’t talk to anybody about it. Not until Eva.”
He blinks quickly. “You told her these things?”
“I’ve told her more than I’ve told anyone.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”