And then the pocket door started to slide open.
Please don’t be who I think it is,I prayed, sure it must be Diego—sure that he must have seen me bolt and had followed me in here.
But then, a pair of familiar green eyes met mine and relief rushed down my spine.
“What’s going on?” Theo asked in a hushed voice, his eyes panning over me from head to toe as if searching to see if I was hurt.
“I just saw someone I was really hoping to never see again,” I whispered, grabbing his arm and pulling him the rest of the way in.
“Who did you see?” His brows knitted together as I pulled the door closed behind him. “Was it Miles?”
“No.” I shook my head, my palms damp. “It’s one of Ky’s backup dancers. We dated for a few weeks last summer while I was on tour.”
“Why would Ky invite your ex-boyfriend over when he knew you’d be here?” Theo frowned. “Wouldn’t he know it would be awkward?”
“He would,” I said. “You know… if he knew we dated.”
“Huh?”
“Our relationship wasn’t exactly public,” I said, trying to explain. “We kept it quiet around most people. Ky definitely didn’t know.” I hesitated, then added, “At least,Ithought we were keeping it quiet from everyone.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well…” I let out a breath. “I found out later that Diego had been posting pictures of us to his stories on social media. Just… only visible to his ex.”
Theo’s brows pulled together. “You can do that?”
“Yeah. Apparently, she was the only one on his ‘close friends’ list, so I didn’t even know he was doing it.”
“So he was just trying to make her jealous?”
“Yep.” I nodded, my stomach twisting. “And it clearly worked, since she’s now sitting on the couch with him.”
“Oof.” Theo winced.
“Yeah.” I leaned back against the counter. “Just another example of why my love life has always been a complete disaster.”
“That sucks.”
“It does.” I sighed, glancing toward the door.
Then, remembering what I’d been about to do before Theo stepped in here, I sighed again and said, “Which is why I’m gonna tell Ky that I can’t stay here after all.”
“Wait? You’re leaving already?” Theo asked, his eyes widening.
I nodded. “Last year was just really humiliating.” I let out a breath. “And spending the whole weekend watching them together will just remind me of what an idiot I was.”
“You’re not an idiot, Nora,” he said, his hand settling gently around my arm, his thumb brushing lightly over my shoulder. “If anything, that Diego guy is the idiot for letting you go.”
“You’re nice to say that,” I said, trying to brush it off. “Even if it’s not true.”
“But it is,” he said, his voice quieter now, more certain. “He had something good and didn’t recognize it. That’s on him. Not you.”
I let out a small breath. “Thank you.”
And I wanted to believe him.
Wanted to believe that my failed dating life wasn’t somehow a reflection of me… that I wasn’t the problem.