Page 99 of The Good Luck Cafe
“You were young,” Gil said calmly. “Once you tell people why you did what you did, they’ll understand.”
“Tell?” Moira shook her head and pulled away. “No, I’m not telling.”
Gil furrowed his brow. “Why not? You have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing even happened.”
Moira’s mouth fell open, and her eyes narrowed. “Really? Nothing happened?” She took another step backward. “Maybe my clothes stayed on, but Iwasviolated. Maybe it could have been a lot worse, but it still affected me.”
“Of course. I know. I didn’t mean to minimize what he did to you. Drugging you with the plan to hurt you…” He seemed to swallow. “I don’t know how that would feel.”
“I’ll tell you how it would feel. Horrible. I trusted him. I trusted myself to make decisions with him. And he broke that trust in me. I wanted revenge. That’s why I did what I did.”
“I know that now.”
More tears streamed down Moira’s cheeks. She hated crying in front of other people, especially Gil. “But I can’t tell anyone what happened. I don’t want to be a victim, and maybe no one would even believe me. Then I’d be pegged a liar.” That’s how she’d felt when she’d reported the next day what Felix had done. The officers taking her report had been nice, but they’d told her there was no evidence. It was a he-said, she-said case, which made her feel like she was making it all up. Felix was a stand-up guy. A college athlete. Mr. Popular. No one would believe he was capable of drugging a woman to take advantage of her. Not even Gil had considered that scenario.
Gil braced her shoulders between his hands, looking her square in the eyes. “I’ll back up your story. I drove you home, remember? I saw how intoxicated you were. And I know you. You wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
Moira was shaking. This was all too much. “I need to go inside.”
“Good idea. We’ll figure this out, Moira. And it’s not as bad as you think. People will be talking about something else next week. They’ll probably be talking about me.”
Moira climbed her porch steps and then turned to look at him. “People won’t forget this, Gil. I broke into a home and destroyed property. Those are felonies.”
“You were never charged. No one can prove it.”
Moira placed a hand on her chest. “Like I said, I’m not a liar. I won’t lie about this.”
“Breathe, okay. This is politics. Even if it’s just small-town politics. Everyone has something they don’t want the world to know. No one is without skeletons in their closet. If you’re going to be in office, you have to get used to airing your dirty laundry.”
She blinked wearily. “Maybe I’m not cut out for being in office then.”
Gil narrowed his gaze. “Because of this? Moira, Felix has done enough, don’t you think? If you let this story allow you to pull out of the mayor’s race, you’ll just be allowing him to hurt you again. To win. Come on, Moira. You’re stronger than that.”
She pulled back, inexplicably hurt by that statement. It made her feel guilty and angry that she wasn’t stronger. At least she didn’t feel strong at the moment. “Am I? Because right now I just want to quit everything.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Maybe the last month and a half was just one big mistake.”
Gil gave her a searching look. “Which part?”
Maybe Moira was being overdramatic right now. Maybe she was leading with her emotions, but it felt like her world was collapsing around her, and all she wanted to do was retreat into her house, where she was safe. “All of it. And maybe you shouldn’t come inside with me after all.” She sniffled. “I think I just want to be by myself.”
“Trust me, when you feel like you want to be alone, you really need to be with the people who love you. Like me.”
Now Moira was the one giving Gil a searching gaze. Did he mean what he just said? Did he love her?
Wow, she really wasn’t in a place for this discussion right now. “Gil, I just—I just need space, okay? I’m sorry.” She stepped inside her home, needing air and maybe Lucy’s ice cream therapy. She didn’t look up at him as she closed the door, shutting him out.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gil stood there on the other side of Moira’s door, unable to move for a moment as his thoughts and emotions went to war. He wanted to knock on Moira’s door and try again. Leaving her right now when she was so upset didn’t seem like a good idea.
There was another part of him that wanted to retreat to his own home and lick his wounds. He’d just told Moira he loved her, pretty much, and she hadn’t responded. Or she had responded but not in the way he’d hoped. He got that his timing was off, but the L-word always deserved a response, right?
He turned and ran a hand through his hair. He’d always believed in honoring a person’s wishes, so he would leave. But he wouldn’t leave Moira alone. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket as he walked, and dialed Tess’s number.
“Hey, Tess,” he said when she answered. “I’m leaving Moira’s house now.”
