Page 37 of Vitamin Sea

T oca was housed at the Ritz-Carlton. It was in close proximity to Chloe’s home, and unless there was a conference in the hotel, it was usually quiet.

It also had phenomenal mushroom ravioli and a glass-covered cheese cave.

Which was exactly what it sounded like—a cave in the middle of the restaurant that was full of cheese.

Chloe had checked it out one night and consumed so much dairy she went home feeling like a wheel of brie.

The hostess showed her to the table—a chic curved booth where Liam sat with his back to her. She was a bit surprised at the table he had chosen. The seating arrangement would require them to sit next to each other in a cozier position than she would have liked.

“Chloe.” Liam looked relieved when he saw her.

She had a sneaking suspicion that he thought she might stand him up tonight. It would have been well within her rights to do so, but it wasn’t the way Chloe played.

“Hi,” she said casually. To her surprise, her voice didn’t have any hint of bitterness or a nervous catch. If they had done this six months ago, she reflected, she would have shown up looking like something the cat dragged in and, tears in her eyes, would have begged him to take her back.

Now, though? She was happy and content. Both with life and her budding new romance.

She wasn’t showing up tonight out of desperation and hope.

She was showing up out of curiosity. And she wasn’t dressed up to the nines like in the movies when the main character goes to meet her ex.

From her hair to her outfit, Chloe was totally casual.

She took a seat next to Liam and put her purse down between them.

Why, several months after breaking up with her for another woman, did he want to see her?

She had told Jack about Liam’s request to meet for dinner and he had seemed cautious but supportive.

He had questioned her about it—not anything like giving her the third degree but just trying to suss out her feelings about Liam.

She had allayed Jack’s concerns without him voicing them, and she truly believed in what she said. Jack had respected her decision and just told her that he was there for her if she wanted to talk afterwards and to let him know if she needed some space.

The waitress put a menu down in front of Chloe and she requested tap water and a pilsner. Tonight, she wanted to keep her wits about her.

The gentle glugging of water into her glass punctuated the silence between her and her ex.

“So,” he turned to her after the waitress walked away. “Thanks for coming, Chlo.”

She raised an eyebrow in response. The last time she had seen him in person, he had intentionally not called her by her nickname. He had used her full name. A strategy, she was certain, to hammer home the fact of how his feelings towards her had changed.

Why was he suddenly calling her Chlo?

“Oh, it’s fine,” she said in response before pausing. “I was a bit confused as to why you wanted to meet for dinner.”

“Ah,” he leaned back self-assuredly. “Why don’t we save that conversation for when we get our mains.”

She shrugged in reply: “Okay.”

They passed the time engaging in small talk until their meals arrived. Liam, careful to avoid any mention of work, likely owing to the fact that he was dating one of his colleagues, had asked about her work, family, and friends.

“You look great,” he said sincerely. “I mean that.”

Chloe, mid-drink of beer, snorted into her glass.

“If I remember correctly,” she said after taking a drink, “the last time you saw me I was crying my eyes out and had mascara, eyeliner, and tears running down my face.” She paused to let that fully sink in.

“It’s a low bar in comparison to that, so it doesn’t take much to look great,” she said dryly.

Liam hung his head.

“I really am sorry about that.” Remorse was evident in his voice. “Do you—.” He was cut off by Chloe raising her hand in a ‘stop’ motion.

“Let’s wait until after dinner, shall we?” she said eyeing up her mushroom ravioli. “This is one of my favourite meals and I don’t want it being ruined by whatever it is you’re going to say.”

He considered this for a moment and then nodded before tucking into his Cornish hen.

Several minutes later Chloe leaned back in the booth, her stomach full of ravioli. She dabbed at her lips with her napkin before setting it back down in her lap.

“Dessert?” Liam offered.

She shook her head no.

Even if she had been in the mood for dessert, there was no room for it after the ravioli.

“Okay.” He put his fork down and fortified himself with a drink of wine.

“Listen, Chlo,” he began as she reached for her beer.

Her stomach immediately tightened in anticipation. Not knowing why he wanted to meet for dinner had been bothering her for the past few days. Now that the moment of revelation was at hand, she was apprehensive.

“I want to apologize, from the bottom of my heart, seriously, for what I did to you seven months ago.” He looked into her eyes. “It was wrong, it was stupid, and to date, it is the biggest regret of my life.”

Chloe felt the wind rush out of her chest.

He was doing this? Liam was actually doing this?

“I think just with the pressures at work and everything, and approaching such a milestone anniversary, I panicked. I know it was wrong. I knew it was wrong. I treated you badly the last six months we were together, and I’ll never forgive myself for it.”

Chloe struggled to keep her expression neutral.

It really was wild how life worked. She had spent months pining and tens of hours daydreaming about the very thing that appeared to be happening right now.

Daydreaming that Liam would come to his senses and realize that he made a huge mistake.

Realize that he loved her and that he wanted to be with her.

Grow old with her, have a family with her.

And now, it appeared her daydream was coming true. Several months and one Jack later.

“I’ve thought a lot about our relationship and what I did wrong and about how much I regret letting you go,” he said sincerely.

“And I want you back. I want another chance. I love you, Chlo. I want to marry you. I want to go back to the way things were, but I want to make them better. I want to make up for the way I treated you and spend the next fifty years of our lives making you happy. Kids, adventure, growing old together—I want it with you, Chloe. I want it all and I want it with you.”

Chloe sat there, too stunned to speak. It wasn’t often she found herself stunned into silence, but Liam had managed to do it to her twice in the span of a few days.

“I—I . . .,” she stammered. “I need to think about this,” she said desperately. “I need some time.”

“Of course,” Liam soothed. “Of course you need time. Take some time and get back to me. I love you, Chlo. You know that.”

Chloe couldn’t respond. She didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t expect you to accept my apology or trust me right away,” he said with understanding. “But I’m hoping with time we can build that back up and you can work towards forgiving me. I know I hardly deserve it, but I’m hoping you’ll give me a second chance.”

It was almost too much for her to take in.

“I need to think about this,” Chloe repeated. “I don’t know what to say.”

There was a moment of silence between them and thoughts raced through Chloe’s mind.

If she was honest with herself, she still loved Liam. There was some small part of her that felt she always would.

Could she go back to him? Go back to the way things were before? With Liam working late nights on deals while he made bank and excelled in furthering his career?

Twenty years from now, dumping Chloe for Sophia would be seen as a blip in their relationship; a minor bump in the road.

It’s something that happens to the best of couples.

After all, people aren’t perfect. People are human; they slip up.

They make mistakes. Even in relationships.

Even when they love their partner more than anything else on Earth.

She and Liam hadn’t taken a walk down the aisle and made vows and commitments to one another in the presence of friends and family, but Chloe had been excited to marry him one day.

And she knew the vows—everyone knew the vows.

It was ‘for better or worse’. It wasn’t ‘for better or better’.

And situations such as your long-term boyfriend dumping you for a woman he worked with during a mid-life, late-thirties crisis before realizing that the grass wasn’t greener on the other side?

That, Chloe suspected, was exactly what the ‘for better or worse’ vow was made for.

Exactly what that part of the vow was made for.

Richer or poorer was covered. So was sickness and health.

What else could better or worse be referencing?

She supposed it was kept as vague as possible because no one wanted to be smacked in the face with ‘for commitment or affairs’ when they were standing up at the altar.

For monogamy or innumerable side pieces , went through her head.

Nothing romantic about that . It would put even the staunchest of romantics off marriage.

But—she and Liam had never made it that far.

Not that it really made much of a difference.

Only legally, she mused. The two of them were as good as married in every other aspect of their lives.

They were each other’s contact in case of emergency, they were each other’s financial beneficiary should anything happen to either of them.

They had plants together. And they shared a home together.

Well. They had once shared a home together. Now it was just a condo in which Chloe was temporarily staying.

But Liam was asking for her back.

She could take him back. Take him back and rebuild everything. Rebuild the life they had created and that had been burned down by a bitch named Sophia.

Okay, that wasn’t fair.