Page 30 of A Gingerbread Romance

At least, before he’d met Greta, he’d been fine.

They reached the porch and Greta turned to him, her eyes full of concern. “What’s going on, Jonathan? I’ve never seen you like this.”

He dropped his head, attempting to play it off. “Look, I’m really tired. I think I should just call it a night.”

Yes, it was only seven p.m. on a Saturday, and he was only confusing her. But if he could’ve screwed up his relationship so badly with Carla, a woman he’d been with for three years, and he’d only met Greta a few weeks ago, then… He sighed, studying Greta’s face.

If he could’ve been with Carla and not seen what was going on, all that time—that there was no longer anything between them even while he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with her, then how could he become involved with another woman now?

His judgement had been questionable, at best. Because he could easily trust a woman like Greta now, and fall head over heels for her, too. And then, in six months or a year or two years, he could wind up in the same miserable place he’d found himself with Carla.

Greta’s brow creased, and her eyes seemed to bore holes in him. He dropped his gaze to the floor.

“Are you sure? I don’t like to see you this way.” Her tone was nurturing, patient, kind. His heart stung.

What had he been thinking, trying so hard to date Greta? He didn’t pursue women anymore; he let them come to him. And then he didn’t get emotionally involved when they did. It was easy. Safe. Full proof.

And when he’d met Greta, he’d known immediately that she wasn’t the type of girl who’d chase him and be fine with a casual arrangement. She was much more than that. She deserved better.

But he hadn’t listened to his instincts, had he? He’d gotten to know her, he’d fallen for her, and now, here he was, totally wrapped up in her, from her head to her gorgeous toes. Exactly what he’d intendednotto do.

He sighed.

Just friends.

Her words danced across his mind.

She’d insisted on it.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He raised his gaze to meet her eyes and sucked in a breath. Well, beingjust friendswas definitely for the best, as it turned out, because it was time to stop pursuing her before he found himself in too deep. He was not going to repeat the mistake he'd made with Carla. Ever.

“Umm, okay,” Greta said doubtfully. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

She’d been the one to shut him down tonight when he’d asked to take things to the next level. That should’ve been enough of a warning.

But thank goodness she had. Because he’d just dodged another bullet. She’d already given him anout. “Yeah, sure,” he said.

He could still be friends with her. Not close friends, like they’d started to become, but friends. “I’ll see you later. And hey, I’m sorry about this. I’ve just got to clear my head.” He needed to do a lot more than clear his head, but he didn’t need to hurt her feelings.

He stuffed his hands back inside the pockets of his coat and hopped down the stairs, then hightailed it toward the street.

* * *

“And he left, just like that?”asked Abby over the phone.

“Just like that. He seemed reallyoff, though.” Greta put the phone on speaker and set it on the kitchen table, pouring herself a cup of herbal tea at the stove as the kettle boiled. She’d warmed up a bowl of potato leek soup for dinner with some toasted sourdough from the bakery, which had, fortunately, soaked up the remains of the champagne in her system. She felt level-headed now as she took the hot mug of tea to the table and sat down.

She’d already explained the entire afternoon to Abby in detail, from the generous help Jonathan had offered to the sweet celebration he’d brought to their strange walk home.

“It doesn’t add up,” said Abby. “Especially since he asked you to go out with him again.” She paused. “Unless… theexyou ran into was someone really serious in his life. Did he tell you anything about her?”

“Nothing, really,” said Greta, “except that it ended badly between them.”

“Very badly, I’d guess…?”

There wasn’t much more she could say about it. Jonathan would probably be his usual self tomorrow. She brushed off the questions and focused on Abby. “So, what’s been going on with you?”

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