Page 60 of Say You Remember Me
“Did your engagement not last for long, then?”
“We were engaged for about three months before the news broke about her sneaking around with Rhys Applegate.” The professional hockey player who she would go on to date for the next five years.
“And did you not know about her cheating on you until it was in the tabloids?”
“Yeah…” I rubbed my arm and sighed. “Based on some things I’ve heard since then, I kind of think they might have been texting back before we were even engaged.”
“What?” Maddie’s eyes went wide.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I looked like a real idiot.”
“You were in love with her, Ian,” Maddie said, her eyes full of empathy. “It’s normal to believe the best about someone until you have concrete evidence that proves otherwise.”
“I guess. But I don’t know. I just felt so stupid to think that I was actually going to marry her.”
“It happens to the best of us.” She shrugged. “Believe me, I understand that more than you probably know.”
Which made me wonder, once again, about her and her ex. She’d said they weren’t well matched and that she’d shouldered a lot of the workload that came with building a life together, but there had to be more to the story.
“So, did you immediately break off the engagement when you found out about her cheating?” Maddie asked. “Or did you try to make things work for a bit?”
“We actually didn’t have much of a breakup,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
“You didn’t?” Maddie furrowed her brow, confused.
“Yeah. As soon as I saw the pictures of her and Rhys splashed all over the tabloids, I cut her off. No calls, no texts. Just…nothing.”
“You never confronted her?” Maddie’s jaw dropped. “Did you even get your ring back?”
“Nope.” I shrugged. “Who knows, maybe she keeps the ring on her dresser as a reminder of what a fool I’d been.”
“So yesterday was the first time you’ve seen her since you were together?” Maddie lifted an eyebrow. “You really didn’t break up in person?”
“Apparently, back then, I was quick to cut people out of my life when they disappointed me,” I said, realizing only in that moment that I’d basically done the same thing with Margot that I’d done with my dad the year before.
“So…do you still just ghost girls, then?” she asked. Her tone was casual, but I could tell she was really curious.
“Define ghosting…” I hesitated a beat, knowing I was likely about to look bad in Maddie’s eyes.
She shrugged, keeping her tone casual but still curious. “I mean, I know you’ve had…relationships since Margot. But do you just disappear on women if things aren’t exactly what you want?”
“Look, I’m not perfect.” I scratched my neck, feeling a bit of heat. “Yeah, I’ve ghosted some women. If it was just a weekend thing, it didn’t seem necessary to go through a whole…exit speech.”
“Ian…” She frowned, disapproval clear in her gaze.
“Hey, I never claimed sainthood.” I chuckled, raising my hands in surrender. “There’s a reason I earned that ‘billionaire playboy’ title.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, her lips tugging into a faint smirk. “And have you pulled that trick recently?”
“I haven’t ghosted anyone in about a year.” I met her gaze, holding it. “So, consider me a reformed man.”
She laughed. “I guess it’s easier when you’re not dating.”
“Touché,” I said, smirking. But the way her expression softened, her eyes dropping to the floor as if she were turning something over, stirred a different kind of tension.
“So…if I hadn’t shown up at your office that Monday after the club, but we ran into each other again somewhere…” she trailed off, looking up at me through her lashes.
“I probably would’ve asked you out.” The answer came more naturally than I expected.
