Page 131 of We Met Like This
I nodded but couldn’t say the words back no matter how much I felt them.
“I didn’t know you were her sister,” he said. “I mean, at first, I had no idea. Not three years ago in the car, not all these years of messaging, not the majority of our time together. Not until I saw her first name on your phone and then learned your lastname. And even then I wasn’t sure because her sister’s name was Maggie. So I had to go home and google her and you.”
“And then you knew,” I said.
He nodded.
“Beforeyou slept with me.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them again. “I’m sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was going to. I was processing. But you two were fighting and I wanted you to make up with her, I didn’t want to be another source of tension, and I’d talked myself out of being with you once I found out. But you showed up at the gym. I tried to tell you then but you stopped me. Then you asked me for a ride to Paso Robles. And I didn’t want to stay away from you. I thought maybe we really could just be friends. I wanted you in my life. Then in the silo you said that thing about the past being in the past and it’s been eight years and I thought since we’d already…” He sighed, his shoulders dropping, as if saying everything out loud revealed just how much he had screwed up. “I have no excuse. I’m a coward. I should’ve told you.”
“You should’ve.”
He swallowed hard, a look of concentration taking over his face.
“I can see you thinking,” I said.
“It’s who I am.”
“I know,” I said. “And I’m impulsive sometimes… a lot of the time. I’m nothing like my sister.”
“I know,” he said.
“So what conclusions have you drawn?’
“Conclusions?” he asked.
“All the thinking you’ve been doing the last couple weeks. Have you concluded anything?”
“Aside from the fact that I’m stupid?”
“Yes, aside from that.”
He laughed a little, maybe realizing my sarcasm had come out, maybe taking that as a good sign. “I’ve concluded that you’re good for me. You get me out of my head and you challenge me and you make me happy. That you are smart and funny and interesting and sexy as hell. You’re everything. And I…” He paused and took a breath, then met my eyes with wonder in his. “You swiped right on me?”
I nodded and held up the drink in my hands. “You wanted to give me a meet-cute.”
“I love you, Margot.”
My heart beat hard against my ribs, taking my breath away.
“Aren’t you going to say it back?” came another voice.
I looked to my right to see Sloane and Cheryl standing there, arm in arm.
“That was a really good speech,” Sloane said. “You forgive him, right?”
“Sloane, we’re kind of in the middle of a private conversation here.”
“In the middle of a coffee shop? This isn’t exactly private conversation territory.”
“You’re right,” I said. “It’s not. We’re leaving.”
“What?” Sloane protested. “I’m invested now. I need to see the kiss.”
