Page 20 of That Time in Venice
“It’s the truth. I can’t think of a single good reason why he would break upwithyou.”
Anika lowered her gaze. “He had hisreasons.”
“Well, I guess we both gotdumped.”
“Whodumpedyou?”
“Deanna.”
“The girl on thesoftballteam?”
“Yep,” he replied,nodding.
“You don’t seem too broken upaboutit.”
“I’m not. She did me a favor.” He resumed walking and Anikafollowed.
“So what do you think is wrong with us?” sheasked.
“Who says it’s us? Maybeit’sthem.”
“You’resosure?”
“Absolutely.”
He lifted his head at a cocky angle. Anika wished she had hisconfidence.
“Maybe in your case, butnotmine.”
You’re broken. She couldn’t get Emerson’s ugly words out of her head. He’d said them after she told him she couldn’t have kids. At eighteen she’d had her ovaries removed because of painful cysts. She’d opted for hormone therapy, suffering through breast tenderness and vaginal bleeding for weeks that made her think she should have waited and sought out a different solution. The symptoms subsided after a month, but the regret and sense of loss persisted. There were no Mother’s Day celebrations in her future, and Emerson revived her anguish with his brutalwords.
Reed stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Hey, whatever he said, he’s wrong. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re pretty and smart and really nice. It’shisloss.”
“Pretty and smart and nice?” She latched on to thewords.
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t let the compliments go toyourhead.”
Shelaughed.
Reed didn’t laugh, though. “Seriously. There’s nothing wrongwithyou.”
He sounded so sincere that shebelievedhim.
She hadn’t thought about Emerson in over twenty-four hours, and even now he was a fleeting thought, a cloudy memory when compared the vivid imagery of Reed before her. A few days in his company and she was developing feelings for him, knowing full well it was abadidea.
Perhaps because she was particularly vulnerable since the abrupt end to her last relationship, but she wondered what it would be like to be his girlfriend. Getting involved with him was a non-starter—a rebound thing that she knew she’d end up regretting. She wasn’t here to get her emotions tangled up in another man—no matter how attractive, funny, andcharming.
So a fling, perhaps? On another continent, did it even count? She saw Reed withneweyes.
“Thanks. I needed to hear allofthat.”
The lazy smile came back, and the measured way he looked at her suggested he was reassessing her, too. “I meant every word. Allofthat.”
