Page 88 of Stick Fight

The server disappears, and for a moment, we’re suspended there, two people who were supposed to get married, now strangers blinking across a chasm. But then again, weren’t we strangers long before this? I sip my water, gather my courage, and break the silence.

“How are you, Cass?”

He plasters on a smile, the kind I know too well: practiced, no heart. But when he meets my eyes, and sees the real, unguarded concern on my face, the smile falters, as if he can’t summon the energy to keep pretending. And for the first time, I realize he’s not the enemy anymore. He’s just a man who lost his way.

And I’m the woman who found hers.

“You’re not coming back, are you?”

The words fall between us, low and raw, and for once, Cass doesn’t bother hiding the truth. He blinks, caught off guard, but nods.

“Is that what you really want?” I ask, voice steady but soft. “For me to come back?”

Cass takes a breath, chest rising like he’s about to lie, about to sayyesout of duty, out of desperation, but then he exhales, slow and broken. He lowers his head, staring down at the table as though he can’t bear to look at me when he answers.

“No,” he whispers.

The single word punches the air out of my lungs. Not because it surprises me. But because of how hardit seems for him to admit. I reach across the table, threading my fingers through his. His hand is cold, trembling slightly.

“Are you in love with Todd?” I ask gently.

His throat works around a hard swallow, Adam’s apple bobbing. “Yes,” he says, voice thick with everything he’s been forced to bury. There’s no anger left in me. Only sadness. Sadness for the boy who never got to be free, and the man who’s still chasing approval from someone incapable of giving it.

“I’m sorry, Cass,” I murmur. “You know I can’t do this any more, right?”

He lifts his head, and the look he gives me, broken, honest, grateful, guts me. “I know,” he says, and the understanding that passes between us in that moment says more than words ever could. We sit there, just breathing in the weight of it.

“When I saw how happy you were...” Cass starts, voice rough, “I realized I wanted that for you. I do care about you, Gabrielle. I always have. I hope you know that.”

“I do,” I say, squeezing his hand. “I can see that now.” And I mean it. I feelit.

“The hockey player...” Cass says after a beat, a small, almost wistful smile ghosting across his lips. “You love him?”

I sit back in my chair, stunned. “You knew?”

He nods. “I knew,” he says simply. “I found you...a long time ago. I didn’t tell my father. I guess I figured you deserved a chance. A chance to get him out of your system, after everything that happened with me and Todd. But I thought...I thought eventually you’d want your career back. That you’d come home.”

A lump forms in my throat, but when I speak, my voice is clear. “Iamhome, Cass. I found home.”

He closes his eyes briefly, swallowing hard. His fingers tighten around mine. “I’m glad you did,” he whispers. “You deserve that. I’m so sorry, Gabrielle. For everything I took from you.

For everything I broke.”

Tears prick the backs of my eyes, but I blink them away. We’ve cried enough tears over this. “I know it wasn’t all you,” I say. “I’m sorry, too. For leaving you to face all that alone. For running out on the wedding.”

Cass shakes his head fiercely. “There’s no way you could have, or should have, gone through with it. I deserved it.”

I squeeze his hand again. “What you deserve,” I say quietly, “Is happiness. Real happiness.

Not the kind you have to earn or beg for.”

His mouth trembles and he ducks his head, overcome. “You deserve happiness too, Gabrielle,” he says hoarsely. “I want that for you. I want it more than anything.” Silence wraps around us, heavy but not uncomfortable. He toys with the straw in his drink, the ice clinking softly against glass. Finally, his voice breaks the stillness, small and uncertain.

“Can you ever forgive us?” he asks. His eyes glisten. “Todd’s a mess...for what it’s worth.”

I take a deep breath, feeling the truth bloom inside me. “In time, I think I can,” I say honestly. “It hurt. God, it hurt. But there’s a part of me that knew better. Knew deep down...we weren’t right.”

Cass shakes his head fiercely, voice rough when he says, “None of this is on you. None of it, Gabrielle.”

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