Page 128 of The Charm of You

“I didn’t.”

“Oh, thank heavens.” Relaxing, she lifts her gaze to the ceiling, but her relief is premature.

“I didn’t break up with her, because there was nothing to break, Ma. We weren’t in a relationship.” I lean my elbows on my knees and run both hands through my hair.

“Nonsense!” She smacks my arm.

I blink toward her in disbelief. “What was that for?”

“For being such a… a… troll.”

I lift a brow.

“I might’ve learned some new lingo at the Tap from Scarlett and Miranda.”

“You mean, Matilda?”

“Is that her name?” She taps her chin, then throws her hands into the air. “Tell me what you’ve done, so we can figure out a way to reverse it.”

“It’s over, Ma.” I frown, the words sour on my tongue.

“Listen to me.” She yanks on the sleeve of my jacket. “You’ve broken up with every girl you’ve ever dated before things got too serious, but I kept my mouth shut because none of those girls seemed to make you happy. But Caroline is not just any girl.”

“You’re right.” I shrug out of her grasp and stand, a mixture of regret and defeat weighing me down worse than if I were pinned under a fucking train. “She’s not like any girl I’ve ever met, but the truth is, I’ll miss her a lot more than she’ll miss me.”

“She’s crazy about you,” she insists.

“She is now because I’m the new shiny thing she latched onto after her life imploded,” I say sadly. “She’ll get back to the city tomorrow, and it won’t be long before she latches onto the next shiny thing. She’ll quickly realize she’s meant for far more than I can offer.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“Why? It’s what always happens. They all realize I’m not the one for them at some point. It’s better for Caroline this way.”

“You need to call her, Austin. You need to talk to her, and?—”

“Thanks, Ma, but it’s done.” I pat the back of the couch and trudge toward the door, my limbs heavy.

I hate the words I uttered. I hate the knot of dread and guilt lodged in my throat, slowly inching its way into my stomach.

In my apartment, I despise the guy looking back at me in the mirror as I brush my teeth.

But no matter what rock bottom I’m currently sinking into, it doesn’t change the fact that I did the right thing by letting Caroline go—for her sake, and mine.

chapter

forty

AUSTIN

“Whoa. You look like shit,” Cole greets me with the worst greeting in the history of manners.

“Hello to you too, asshole,” I grumble and slide onto an empty barstool. There’s still one available, but they’ll all be occupied once karaoke night is underway.

My so-called friend sets a bourbon in front of me and folds his arms over the bar. “Heard from Annabelle that Caroline left town this morning. She saw her car headed down Chestnut while Annabelle was walking her cat, Mrs. Kensington.”

I gurgle down a drink and punctuate it with a grunt.

“You already miss her, don’t you? It’s adorable, really. I never thought I’d see you flustered by love. It’s a good look on you.”

---