Page 133 of Finally Mine
“You’re upset because your friend is hurt. I get that,” Aldo said carefully.
But it was more than that. So much more. Gloria had never seen anyone love as freely as Harper. And if that kind of love couldn’t be reciprocated, what did that say about Gloria’s future? Was she like Luke and too damaged to ever be in a healthy relationship? Did her scars run too deep?
Or was she like Harper and chasing a love that wasn’t real?
Looking at Aldo, in the dim glow of lamps, she couldn’t be sure. She needed to think. Needed to figure out if she was making a mistake or if she’d already made it.
Because now she knew that love wasn’t enough.
“I’m sorry, Aldo. I think I need some time. Some space.”
“Spell it out for me, Glo. Because you’re scaring the shit out of me right now. Are we talking about just tonight?”
She swallowed hard and shook her head. “No. We’re not. I’m not. I think all of this might have been a mistake.”
“Sweetheart, if you want to back off on the moving in together thing, that’s fine. I don’t want to rush you. I love you. I love being with you. I’ll be as patient as you need me to be…ifyou’re in this.”
Theif. She didn’t know the answer. Didn’t know if she should be in it. Shouldn’t this be easy? Shouldn’t she know? Maybe that was her answer.
“I think I made a mistake, Aldo.”
“No, Glo. No.” He reached for her, but she shied away, and she saw the pain flicker across his face.
She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Not like that. Never like that.
“I’m sorry,” she said lamely. “But I need time. And space. And I need you to give me both. You said you’d give me anything.”
“Anything,” he repeated.
“Then give me this.” And with those parting words, she walked to the closet. She got her coat, bag, and phone. And then she left.
75
The pounding on her front door had Gloria leaping out of her bed and running barefoot into the living room. She hadn’t slept. Her decision the night before hadn’t given her the peace she sought.
“Aldo?” she called flinging the door open. Maybe he could fix this for her. Help her figure it out.
But it wasn’t Aldo. It was a wild-eyed Sophie who brushed past her, pushing a to-go coffee into Gloria’s hands.
“We need to brainstorm,” she said, hustling into the apartment.
Disappointment pushed Gloria further into her shame spiral. There was no reason Aldo would be showing up on her doorstep. Not with the ultimatum she’d given him. She’d done this to herself, pulling her head and heart back into a protective shell. Now, not only was shenothappy, she was fucking miserable.
If this is what safe felt like, it was total crap.
“Brainstorm what?” she asked with zero enthusiasm.
But Sophie was too far gone in her plotting drama to notice.
She unwound a scarf from her neck and dropped her coat over the back of the dining chair before dramatically flopping down on Gloria’s couch.
“How to get Luke and Harper back together,” she announced. “I schemed them together in the first place, and now my services are desperately needed again.”
“I don’t think I’m the right person to be scheming with,” Gloria said, sitting down next to Sophie and hugging a pillow to her chest.
Sophie stared at her for a long beat. “Oh, for fuck’s sake! You, too? What the hell is wrong with you people? Are you running against my brother for mayor of Chickenshitville?”
“How do you know it was me?” Gloria asked.
