Page 40 of Motivating Mira
As much as I wanted Mira, wanted to continue what we’d started so long ago, once I found out what she was going through, I vowed to give her what she needed, which was a friend.
“That’s what it looks like, at least according to the jealousy level of our server,” I said with another chuckle, glancing at Silas walking by with a tray of drinks for a large group sitting nearby. “I haven’t been in a relationship since high school. And dating with the intention to get to know someone hadn’t been on my to-do list for years either. I put Beth and Marni first when it cameto my life. Until I met you. After that few weeks we had together, my view on life flipped and I changed my plans. Once Marni was a bit older, and my residency was done, I had decided to look for jobs here in Montana.”
The confusion from earlier returned but this time she didn’t attempt to hide it. “I thought you forgot about me.” She looked down and when her eyes lifted, they were filled with pain. “Or lost interest.”
I was taken aback. “Why would you think that? I know I didn’t always reply right away, but I did it as quickly as I could.”
Her brow furrowed. “You stop texting me completely.” There was an edge of anger mixed in with the hurt in her voice.
My eyes widened in shock. “No, I didn’t. You stopped replying.”
It was her turn to be surprised. “No…” she didn’t finish her thought then, instead she narrowed her eyes. Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through it, tapping something and then I heard the sound of ringing through her speakers.
“Do you have your phone on you?”
“Pretty much always. As a doctor…” I stared at her phone.
“Is it on vibrate?”
I shook my head and then fished it out of my pocket holding it up to her.
“Son of a... he changed your number in my phone.”
My brows shot up. “He? Who?”
“My ex.”
“Why would he?—”
“Because I was in love with you and he was getting nowhere with me because of it.”
I swallowed. “You were in…”
Her sudden realization of what she’d said hit and her face instantly went red. “Uh, yeah. And I thought you ghosted me.” She pressed her lips and when she continued, her voice waslaced with anger. “But my ex, a narcissistic, asshole, fake Dom, who screwed my life up, must have…” She leaned back, crossing her arms.
“Wow, this dinner is full of plot twists.”
She chuckled and nodded but then her face fell, and disappointment filled her eyes. “And now it’s too late.”
“Because you’re not the same person anymore.” I reiterated the words she’d said way back when we’d first seen each other at the hospital.
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m not the girl you knew and now I don’t want a relationship, especially not with a Dom.”
“Don’t want or don’t need?”
“Both,” she said, her eyes shifting slightly, giving away her lie.
“I can’t say I completely understand, but that’s because I don’t know the full story. But you’ve made yourself clear, so I’m not going to push. But I’d still like to be friends.”
“I’d like that, too,” she said and drained her margarita. “And on that note, I need to go. I have an early class tomorrow.”
I stood just as she did. “Okay, but we didn’t even talk about what was bothering you.”
“That’s okay. Listening to your stuff gave me a reprieve from mine.” She gave me a small smile, one that hit me right in the chest.
“Let’s get these tacos wrapped up for you then. You didn’t eat much.”
She started to roll her eyes but caught herself, and I knew she was remembering one of our many scenes together, this one more real than a lot of our more playful scenes.
