Ava smiled. “Simple. It wasn’t you he was hiding. It was us. He didn’t want to share you. For the first time in his life, he put what he wanted above everyone else.”
I wanted to believe her, but I couldn’t.
“Why are you here?”
Ava leaned close. “Paul and Jeremy—the other two-thirds of the triplets—met a set of twins and started dating them. Ronan was left out of the loop for the first time in his life. He struggled with it. Everything he’d known all his life had changed. It wasn’t the three of them anymore. He was on his own, and they were together.”
“I’m sure that was hard for him.”
A frown crossed her face. “Something happened to him last year. Liam knows more about it than I do. It involved a woman who wanted him only for his money and his best friend who betrayed him, so I think we can all guess what it was. Neither of them is in his life anymore. It affected him deeply. We were all worried about him.”
I felt the stirrings of sympathy. “I see.”
“But as much as those things affected him, they didn’t hit him as hard as you walking away from him did. He’s devastated. I’ve never seen him like this.”
I swallowed. “Like what?”
“Serious. Sad. Cut off,” Ava whispered. “He isn’t Ronan. He goes through the motions, but he isn’t there. His heart is missing.”
“Are you sure that is because of me?”
Gracie smiled sadly. “When he broke up with Loni, he refused to talk about her. He wanted to put her in the past. But this time, it’s entirely different. It’s as if he doesn’t want to forget you. He wants to relive every moment he had with you. Well, the ones he can share.” She waggled her eyebrows, the gesture reminding me so much of Ronan, I had to smile. “I know you think we don’t know about you, Beth, but since you walked away, you are all he talks about. How amazing you are. How much you mean to him. How you saw him for him. For Ronan. How much he misses you. Misses Evan. He beats himself up all the time about not being honest with you. He knows he handled it badly.”
“He talks about me?” I asked, shocked. “To you?”
Ava laughed. “To Gracie, to me. To our brothers—especially Liam. To our parents. He admits he was stupid. He shocked us all when he said why he didn’t tell you. Why he hid his identity from you. He admitted he liked just being Ronan. Beth’s Ronan and not Ronan Callaghan.” She met my gaze. “He is suffering more losing you than he did when Loni betrayed him or he was trying to find his place when Paul and Jeremy met their girls and he was on his own.”
I blinked, trying to take it all in. I meant that much to him?
Was it possible?
Gracie patted my hand. “You mean more to him than you know. He is truly lost without you.”
I realized I must have spoken out loud.
“We’ve only been seeing each other a few weeks.”
Ava shrugged. “Fast in my family isn’t unusual. Bentley said he knew he was going to marry Emmy not long after he met her. My mom said she knew my dad was the one the first day she met him.” She grinned. “It took him a little longer to come to the same conclusion.” Then she tilted her chin at Gracie. “She married her boss after seeing him secretly for months. They eloped, and we all found out on Christmas Day.” She winked. “Talk about drama.”
I tried not to laugh, but a smile made my lips quirk.
“I see.”
“Talk to him, Beth. Please. Let him explain. If you can’t forgive him—well, dammit, you have to. He’s in love with you,” Gracie insisted. “And I can’t stand to see him so unhappy.”
I gaped at Gracie. “In love?”
“I know him. He is. He told me once that being loved for yourself would be the most wonderful thing he could imagine. You did that for him. He wants you. He wants to be part of your life.”
“He hasn’t reached out.”
“He’s respecting your wishes. Trying to give you space. But he’s still around.”
I pursed my lips. “The car driving me home is from him, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“And the tips I keep finding in my jar?”
“He sends someone over every day to buy lunch and bring cake to the office. He wants to take care of you, and it’s the only way he can right now.” Ava paused. “He wants to look after you so much.”
“I don’t need to be looked after.”
Gracie laughed. “We all need to be looked after, one way or another. Let’s face it. Ronan fucked up. He can’t drive you home, so the car was the only way he could make sure you were safe. He can’t eat here, so he feeds others and makes sure you are rewarded. He is desperate to talk to you but terrified you’ll refuse and send him away. He’s trying to give you space. He’s hoping you’ll let him talk to you. But I am worried about him. He’s in pain, and I can’t help him. His hope is fading. That’s why we came.”