Page 118 of The Promise

“Maureen, I’m sorr—”

“You don’t have to apologize.” She shakes her head. “Look, I don’t know exactly what went down between you two last year, but clearly, I got in the middle of it. It’s typical of me to push my way in and then find myself somewhere I’m not wanted.”

I frown. “I led you on, and I apologize for that. It was unfair to you.”

She presses her lips together, nodding with a torment she’s failing to hide. “Right. So, there was nothing ever there between us then?” She peers up at me.

Gulping, I reply. “You’re a good friend. And you’re beautiful but—”

“But dumb, and predictable, and flaky. I know, I’ve heard it all, you can spare me the details.” She stares blankly past my shoulder, annoyance written all over her face.

I watch her sympathetically. “I never said any of those things, I just don’t think we’re very compatible.”

Skepticism fills her eyes. “Look, I’m not trying to start an argument, but Sophie says you’re not looking for anything serious, so why then does compatibility actually matter to you?”

I gulp again, rubbing my palm against my forehead. “It doesn’t… I don’t know. I’m not really sure what to think right now.”

“Yeah, clearly,” Maureen says quietly. “But you’re a good guy, Kai. Don’t waste that on cheap girls who only want one night of validation from you. If you care about Sophie, just tell her.”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that.”

She doesn’t reply, instead starting to step around me to end the exchange, but I speak up before she can. “Did Sophie say anything about me?”

“Well, yeah, we talked about you, but…” Maureen pauses. “I think she feels too guilty to admit anything to me at this point.”

“She has more important things to focus on,” I reply.

Maureen raises an eyebrow. “She’s not gonna turn you down if you try.”

I rub my forehead again. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

She sighs and raises her hands in surrender, backing away. “Fine. It’s not my place anyway. Just…” She looks at me, pitifully. “Either tell her how you feel or leave her be. Don’t lead her on and then break her heart. Spare her that, at least.” She slowly steps around me.

My shoulders drop with guilt. “I really am sorry…”

She turns and looks at me once more with a small smile. “We’ll always have Daria and William. It was a losing battle for them too, but they had their moments. I’m ok with that.” She turns away. “See you tomorrow.”

I watch her retreat until she disappears around the corner, and then I let out a long, puzzled breath. The last thing I expected was for Maureen to encourage me to make a move toward Sophie. Yet, here she is, saying it like it’s the most obvious suggestion in the world.

And it would be, if I didn’t promise Sophie I’d abstain from doing exactly that.

***

The next afternoon, I sit in the green room, scrolling through my phone while waiting for our matinee performance to begin.

“Darn, do I really have to sit next to you?”

At the sound of her voice, my head snaps up to see Sophie rolling her eyes as she sinks into the chair to my right.

A grin spreads across my face. “No one is making you.”

She laughs and settles in, resting her head back and looking over at me. “Leah ran into Drew last night.”

I raise my brows. “Eeek…”

She nods. “Yeah. Talk about awkward… Apparently, he tried to invite her to dinner.”

“What did she say?”

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