I blink at her. “Don’t you have an opinion about it? God knows you have an opinion about every other couple that’s fucked in the area. You wrote a whole book about it.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “I wrote a relationship book.”
“Semantics.” I huff. “You didn’t answer my question: Don’t you have some kind of thought or feeling about what I’ve just told you?”
“Oh, I have plenty of thoughts and feelings.” She leans back in her chair, eyeing me speculatively. “But I think the most important question is what your thoughts are about it. I already know it’s made you mad.”
“Hooking up with her didn’t make me mad. Her ghosting me did.”
“Ghosting?” She frowns. “Sophie didn’t ghost you. If anyone ghosted anyone, it was you.”
Her eyes narrow. “I have half a mind to kick your ass for doing that. Actually, that’s mostly why I came by.”
“It’s why you came…”
“That’s right. To find out what the hell possessed you to sleep with my
“The fu…” I shake my head. I seem to be having trouble finishing my sentences right now. “You seem to have a few wires crossed.”
“Really? To me it seems like you’re just being a man. Taking what he can get without a look back.”
“Are you kidding? She broke my heart.”
Now, Winter is the one to look confused. She opens and closes her mouth a few times. Her voice is strangled when she finally says, “Sophie broke your heart?”
“Yeah, she did.” I press the heel of my palm to my chest, where there’s been a dull ache the past two weeks. “I know she said she only wanted a little vacation fling, but I feel for her.”
“Did you tell her?”
I was going to. I was going to tell her the morning after your wedding, before she flew back home, but I got called away for that wildfire. When I got back, she was gone.”
“Without saying goodbye?”
“She left the motel. Left Alaska. Without so much as a note.”
Winter shakes her head slowly. “That doesn’t make sense. That’s not like Sophie.”
“Well, that’s what happened.”
“Plus, I have it on good authority she left you a note.”
“She… she didn’t leave me a note.” I clench and unclench my jaw. “Where did she leave it?”
“With the girl at the motel’s front desk.”
“The girl at the…” I groan. “The one who…”
“The one who is always making eyes at you even though she’s barely legal.” Winter clucks her tongue. “God damn.”
“Wha—what did the letter say?”
“Everything.” She gives a light laugh. “Said she poured her heart into it. She said she had caught feelings for you. She talked the IVF. She said she’d hold off if you wanted to try having a relationship.”
“IVF?”
Winter winces. “It’s definitely not my story to tell. Though… I guess she was going to tell you about it.”
She takes a deep breath. “Sophie is planning on having a baby. She’s… Oh my God. She has an appointment at the clinic. This afternoon.”