Page 56 of The Atonement

“You don’t need to worry about me. I appreciate your help with this, but I’m going to be fine. I have to believe that.”

She was silent.

“Anyway, what does your fiancé think about you hanging out with me so much?”

“Why would he think anything about it?”

“Well, given our history, I just wondered if he was okay with this…”

“We went on one date that was interrupted,” she said flatly, looking out the window. “I’d hardly call that history.”

I gripped the steering wheel. “You’re right. I never paid you back for that meal, either.”

“I told you to keep it.” She adjusted in her seat, turning to face me.

I grinned. “Well, you never lost your hair, so I guess Mallory wasn’t too upset after all.”

She gave a sly grin. “Not at me, anyway. Though she certainly had a lot of unflattering things to say aboutyou.” Her gaze raked down my body, and I shifted in place.

I chose my words carefully. “Well, I hope you didn’t believe her.”

“None of my business, anymore.”

A shudder of humiliation ran through me. “Yeah, bad timing, though. If things had worked out between us, I would’ve had a chance to prove her wrong.”

She twirled a piece of hair between her fingers. “Or right.”

I opened my mouth to interject, but closed it again. When she looked at me, she was practically basking in the knowledge of her power over me. “Jesus, Peter, I’m kidding. It’s a joke. Mallory was angry. I certainly didn’t take anything she said to heart. I’m sure she’s said loads of things about me to people when I’ve made her angry.”

It did little to calm my insecurities. The corner of my mouth twitched. “Well,” I said with a deep breath, “I guess we’ll never know now.” My tone carried a lightness I didn’t actually feel.

“I guess not…”

There was a long, brittle silence, making our close proximity seem even more uncomfortable.

“Probably for the best anyway,” I said.

She nodded. “I agree.”

“And now, you’ve got ole Nintendo 64 to keep you company.”

The tension melted between us as she furrowed her brow. “Nintendo 64?”

I laughed. “It’s the only Link I could think of.” When no recognition registered on her face, I added, “You never played…” I trailed off as she shook her head. “Well, now I know why it didn’t work out between us.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re actually lame.”

She threw her head back with a laugh. “Oh I am, am I?”

“I’m afraid so.” I winced. “It’s likely terminal. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do.”

She nudged me playfully, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “You’re such a dork.” Our eyes connected, and for just the moment, she seemed to forget to blink, her gaze trained on mine. The tension was back, but of a different variety.

I spoke softly, trying not to break the spell we’d both fallen under. “We could’ve been something great, couldn’t we? If we’d gotten the timing right.”

Her chest rose and fell with a heavy breath, and she gave me a pained stare. “Maybe so.”