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I cheered up. “He’s doing much better. Thank you for asking. He’s attending a community college nearby, and he’s made a new friend recently. There’s a lot we are thankful for nowadays, including me having a stable job.”
And right there was a reason why I should not harbor hopes of meeting Sean alone again like this. We needed Lucas around to stabilize us.
He nodded. “Well, the next time something goes wrong when you’re around Lucas, remember, I’m right there with you. You won’t have to deal with your fears alone.”
I gazed at him in wonder, surprised at his words, when my phone beeped.
30
CHLOE
It was a message from Will, apologizing for his abrupt departure with a lame,Something came up.
The jerk.
Something about the way I was looking at my phone tipped Sean off.
“Did Will contact you again?”
When I looked back at him, he had his answer. I didn’t even need to nod.
“I assumed the way he’d treated you meant it was the end of Will and you?” he said with a scowl.
I’d thought so too.
I set my phone down on the table. “I don’t know what to think about it all actually,” I said.
He frowned. “Will is not the right man for you.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. The incident with Will reminded me why I never go out on dates anymore,” I said. “So, I wouldn’t attempt to go out with him again even if you weren’t around, making snarky remarks about Will.”
His brown eyes held mine.
Long ago, I’d resolved to never make Henry never feel like he was a burden to me, but I’d partially understood that my partners might not feel the same. It looked like he was a burden to them, and they always left.
He took another bite of his omakase nigiri sushi before speaking.
“What do you mean, you never go out on dates? You were engaged to Bruce until recently.”
I spoke slowly. “I never really was in the dating game before, to be honest. Bruce and I, well, it happened organically because we were around each other so often.”
Sean raised his eyebrows, and I continued, “With Bruce, it was our connection with Henry that brought us together. Bruce was working at the therapist’s office, and we would meet and chat weekly while I waited for Henry’s therapy session to be done. It was a year before I agreed to go out with him. He helped Henry a lot with finding appointments on short notice.”
Henry had gotten physical therapy, but I didn’t clarify that bit to Sean, allowing him to draw his own conclusions.
He leaned forward, his arms on the table. I could smell his aftershave, something I’d become familiar with at work. Sniffing it here, under soft overhead lights, felt different. It made me look at him differently. To take in the fine angles of his face, the broad cheekbones, and the cut of his jaw and wonder why a man like him was single.
“If Henry’s recovered, why won’t you be back in the dating game again?”
My stomach dropped. Of course, he was asking me if I would date someone else after fingering me in a restaurant. He was a jerk of the highest order.
“You’re smart, beautiful, and unbearably cheerful, even around a grump like me.”
His abrupt shift took me by surprise. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit smitten by his unexpected compliment, but I reminded myself that it was just that. Empty words that meant nothing. Words people uttered never meant much, and I was used to that, so I shrugged the compliment off. Besides, Sean was giving me such mixed signals that I was confused.
“Henryhasrecovered, but he still needs me. Most people leave when they realize how much time Henry needs from me. Friends, classmates, dates …”Even our dad. I felt embarrassed when I realized the list was longer than I’d previously accounted for.
“So, you’re the sole caretaker for Henry, is it?” Sean asked, his eyes shrewd.