Page 103 of Bean

The work he does speaks volumes about the kind of man he is.

Nash likes him, and I trust Nash’s judgment.

I can’t stop thinking about him.

I miss him. I miss him so much. It’s like a part of me is missing…

My heart raced as Jarek read through the list. What was he thinking? Did he believe me?

Finally, he looked up, his beautiful blue eyes misty. “I feel so, so foolish. I jumped to conclusions…”

I scrambled off the couch and knelt at his feet, taking his hands as I peered into his eyes. “I would’ve come to the same conclusion had the roles been reversed. Obviously, I never meant for you to see that list, or at least not without me explaining it. And I’m so, so sorry I hurt you. I never meant to.”

A single tear meandered down his right cheek, and I swiped it away with my thumb. He was breaking my heart…but I had unwittingly broken his, and the guilt was real.

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. “You love me?”

“So very much.”

“We’ll need to learn to communicate better, though I will take full responsibility for this one.”

“If I put myself in your shoes, I can totally see why you were so hurt.” I bit my lip. Should I leave it at that? Or should I add the part where he had wounded me?

“I should’ve given you a chance to explain…” he whispered, and I breathed out with relief. He’d brought it up himself.

“That was pure torture, knowing I had somehow messed up but not being able to remember what I did wrong.”

He leaned back, then patted the couch next to him, and I sat down. He took my hand. “I owe you an apology for that.”

“It’s okay because?—”

“It’s not okay. Even if that list had been real, even if you truly had meant it, I still should’ve told you what had happened. It was cruel considering your brain injury, and I’m so sorry for that.”

I swallowed thickly. “Thank you. I had hoped you’d understand that. I don’t think this would’ve hit so hard if I’d been a normal?—”

He cut me off with a finger on my lips. “Normal is judgmental.” I rolled my eyes at him, and he laughed. “Am I wrong?”

No, he wasn’t, and he was also right for calling me out on it. “I’ll try not to say it again.”

He cupped my cheek in an endlessly tender gesture. “I’m so sorry, Bean. I promise I will always tell you if you do something wrong, okay? Not that you will because you’re pretty damn perfect, but just in case.