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I glanced away; the lie lingering on my lips.
But when I looked back at her, I couldn’t make the words come.
Instead, what came out was something I had no intention of discussing.
“Can I run a hypothetical past you?”
Lila’s ebony brows rose. Her smile was lovely, her warm brown skin smooth and ageless. She could have been anywhere from thirty to fifty, the fine lines fanning out from her eyes that deepened ever so slightly when she smiled. “Maximus, part of my job is listening to hypotheticals. Lay it on me.”
So I did, repeating the conversation I’d been having with Zoey, right up to the point when Tina appeared.
“She overheard me,” I said, staring into my scotch.
“Well, to be totally honest, I’d probably throw my drink in your face. You basically made it sound like she couldn’t clean up on her own without your money and your rich, fashion-smart sister helping her. That sting.”
“But that’s not what I said.” Gripping the high-ball glass in my hand, I stared into the amber liquid. It offered no answers, no absolution.
“But she wasn’t there to hear everything.” Lila’s sympathetic gaze met mine when I looked up. “She only heard that last part…and it sounds to me like neither of you have spoken to clarify any of it, have you?”
Shit.
* * *
The asshole’spickup truck wasn’t in the driveway when I pulled up in front of Tina’s house.
That was a good thing, because I was sure I would handle that well.
Heart pounding, I climbed out of my car and started up the walk, only to stop and close my eyes. Mentally, I walked through what I needed to say. Maybe I should—
“Stop it,” I muttered. “Just get it over with.”
Blood roared in my ears as I took the next step until I was finally at the door. I didn’t give myself time to think about it before I hit the doorbell.
Tina’s eyes widened when she saw me, mouth parting.
More than anything, I wanted to close the distance between us, cup her cheek, and kiss her.
But I had to put things right between us.
“I’m sorry,” I said, the words coming out of me like rocks crunching over broken glass. “I don’t know how much you heard when I was talking to Zoey, but I think you heard the worst part, with no context from the rest of the conversation. I’mnotashamed of you—not in any way. I asked Zoey to make the dress because I wanted you to have a dress that’s as beautiful as you are—I wanted you to have that gift, but I also didn’t want you to stress about what to wear. You were already busting your ass with your business. I didn’t want to detract from that because of a last-minute invitation.”
Tina’s lip trembled a moment before she firmed it, her gaze falling away from mine.
“Tina?”
She gave a jerky nod and turned away. “You can come in if you want.”
I could breathe again.
After moving inside, I closed the door carefully as she settled in an armchair that could have been the twin to Gianni’s. Her eyes moved in my direction, then away as she drew her legs up to her chest.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” I said, forcing the words out.
She gave a stiff nod; her gaze focused on the coming twilight, already casting the living room into shadows. “Thank you. I…I probably should’ve stayed and given you a chance to explain. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”
“You don’t owe me an apology,” I said.
Her phone chirped out a notification, and she flinched. Her eyes dropped to the mobile on the windowsill, and her mouth tightened. Not in anger, though. It was as if she was trying to keep her lip from trembling.