He regards my outstretched hand for a moment before he engulfs it in his. I’m relieved that the contact is met with benign curiosity on my part and nothing more. There aren’t any lingering feelings of sadness, all I have left is the disappointment over the way he managed our ending.

He releases my hand and steps back, giving me personal space. “You look great, Ave. How are you? When I saw you were in an accident, I nearly called, but I wasn’t sure you wanted to hear from me.”

I don’t comment on not wanting to hear from him. Honestly, the only reason I’m here at all is because I feel like I owe London. “I’m good, thanks.”

He hooks his thumbs in his pockets. “That’s good. I’m glad. I, uh … I reached out to Mark a while back, just to check in. He said you were tough and recovering well. It looks like that’s true.” He bites at the corner of his mouth.

This is so awkward. “Mark never mentioned that.”

Sam rubs the back of his neck. “I’m not really surprised. He wasn’t all that excited to hear from me. He, uh, mentioned that you and Declan were living together.”

“We are. We have been for a couple of years, now.”

“Oh. Wow. That’s, uh … he didn’t seem like he was ever going to settle down.” He chuckles awkwardly.

“People change. He’s invested in making it work.” At least I hope he is.

“That’s good. I’m glad. He always had a thing for you, even though he didn’t want to acknowledge it.” His smile is rueful. “And maybe neither did you, at the time.”

“I was already in a committed relationship, at the time.” I arch a brow.

Sam nods and looks away as he spins his wedding band around his finger. “I’m sorry about the way things ended. I could’ve handled things better. It was unfair and not at all a testament to what we had. I should have broken things off before I started anything with Lisa, but I had my head in the sand and I honestly didn’t want to hurt you.” When his gaze shifts back to me, it’s full of sadness and regret. “I know I betrayed your trust, I betrayed you. I would go back and handle things differently if I could. I don’t expect it to make any of how I dealt with our breakup better, but I didn’t mean to fall in love with Lisa.”

I feel the weight of those words in my heart. “You can’t help who you fall in love with, Sam, or when it happens. Would it have been better for both of us to have parted ways before you moved? Of course, but I know why you didn’t, and I recognize my own role in that decision. I was holding on to something that was never going to work. I was clingy and insecure for a reason, because even though I didn’t want to face it, the truth was we weren’t meant to be together the way you and Lisa are. You needed to be there, and that’s where you met the love of your life. So I appreciate your apology and taking responsibility for your actions, but we were both young and figuring life out.”

“It doesn’t excuse my actions, though.”

“I’ve moved on with my life, and so have you. The past is in the past. Let’s leave it there.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

It’s been years without real closure, so it’s nice to finally have it, especially at this moment, where I’m trying to navigate my way through a new relationship with someone I already have a history with.

It feels like a weight I’ve been carrying with me has finally lifted. I switch gears, wanting to move the conversation in a new direction. “You mentioned wanting to collaborate on some winter adventure camps. Do you want to show me around? I’ve seen a few of your videos, but it would be good to see how things operate here so I can get a better feel for what you want and how we might be able to partner with you.”

His email today took me by surprise, but it came at the perfect time, especially on the heels of London’s financial review. Beaver Woods is well known and working with them could help broaden our scope and give us some new, valuable opportunities.

“Of course, let’s take a tour of the grounds, and we can toss around some ideas for our winter program. We’re trying to balance the hard-core outdoorsy vibe with some team building and some slightly less severe camping options.”

As Sam shows me around the campground, I consider how our breakup all those years ago was inevitable. It takes seeing him again to realize I’d been in love with the idea of us, not the reality.

Tags: Helena Hunting Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net