Page 90 of Words of Love
She nodded. “Feels like a lifetime.”
“Yeah.” He sat back and slipped his gaze over her. “I mean, really, you look fantastic. All that sea air has been good for you. You were pretty messed up when you left New York.”
“I had reason to be.” She smiled tightly.
“I know.” He chuckled and flicked his gaze to a nearby table. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to see you again, actually. To apologize.”
Though it was too late for apologies, Brookehadmade an effort to forgive him. She could give him credit for trying to make amends.
She waited as the server brought their drinks and departed before she said, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“For what it’s worth, I am sorry.” Michael twisted his college ring around his finger. “We had a great thing going, and I screwed it up. Huge mistake.”
At one time, she might have agreed. But now? If they hadn’t broken up, and if she hadn’t moved back to Bliss Cove…
No snowbound cabin.
No blanket fort.
No Sam.
Even with their precarious footing at the moment, she wouldn’t have given up their time together for anything.
She let out her breath slowly. “Actually, Michael, you did me a favor. You weren’t the right man for me. Not by a long shot.”
A slight hardness tightened his jaw. “Did you find a guy who is?”
“I’m not going to talk about that with you.” She reached for her drink. “How’s Candace?”
“Okay, I guess.” He rubbed his finger on the handle of a fork. “Actually, we’re not together anymore.”
“I’m sorry.” She managed to make her sympathy sound sincere. “What happened?”
“Her father.” He rolled his eyes and laughed. “He was supposed to be a silent partner in the magazine, but turns out he couldn’t shut up about eitherEmpireor our marriage. Candace was his little princess, and I couldn’t do anything right. I should’ve seen it coming. I mean, I think I realized I’d made a mistake, like, five minutes after saying,‘I do.’I did, but I shouldn’t have.”
“Well. Lesson learned.”
The server approached again. “Are you ready to order?”
While Michael scanned the menu, Brooke said, “I’ll have the halibut, and then the dark chocolate soufflé for dessert.”
“Poached lobster for me.” Michael handed his menu back.
After the woman had left, Brooke took a healthy swallow of the gin and tonic. “So let’s talk about my proposal.”
“Yeah, I like it.” He leaned forward, skimming his gaze over her face and down to the v-neckline of her dress. “You were always a great writer, but you were never made for hardcore news. When I got your email about love stories, I thought,That’s so Brooke.”
He was right, but that didn’t stop her defenses from locking into place. Maybe it was the condescending note in his voice.
“It took me some time to discover my writing niche.” She took another sip of her drink. “But I finally did.”
“Yeah. It’s a cool idea.” He pursed his lips. “I mean, it needs some refining…like, you can’t just talk about old people…but overall, it’s solid. That sea air must’ve been good for more than your looks.”
With a chuckle, he reached for a piece of bread from the basket.
“So what’s the next step?” Brooke asked.
“Oh, you know…” He stuffed the bread in his mouth. “Toss it around to the other editors, brainstorm how to refine it, sharpen the angle, et cetera. Takes a while.”