Page 84 of For Butter or Worse
“I didn’t come here to fight with you,” she said. “I would never intentionally hurt you.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, either,” he said, echoing her words. And he meant it.
“What are we supposed to do now?” she asked quietly.
He swallowed. The truth was, he was in love with her. Hopelessly, ridiculously and profoundly consumed with love for Nina. But he also knew he wasn’t good enough for her, especially after she’d pointed out that he was just like Charlie. He wasn’t going to be another man who destroyed her. He wouldn’t let himself ruin her any more than he already had. The only thing he could do would be to let her leave. That way, at least, she’d be free of him.
He never should’ve agreed to be her fake boyfriend in the first place, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. When it came to Nina, it turned out that he would do anything she asked, even if it broke him.
“I’m not supposed to be getting worked up, panic attack and all,” he said. If he was going to get through the loss of her, then she needed to leave. If she stayed any longer, he’d end up changing his mind and begging forgiveness—she deserved so much better than he’d been able to offer her. “You should go.”
“If that’s what you think.” She stood taller, seeming to steel herself as she waited for him to respond. But he didn’t, and he couldn’t. He didn’t want her to leave, but he did need her to, for both of their sakes.
She gave him a fleeting glance, then said, “I can’t believe I actually fell for you.”
He almost stopped her. He pushed himself forward in the bed, and began to swing his legs to the side, but then she walked out of the room. And when she’d passed through the hospital curtain, he stilled, realizing that what was best for her would mean heartbreak for him.
His heart monitor beeped faster and louder. He took three deep belly breaths as the nurse popped his head in. “Everything okay?” the nurse asked.
No, everything was not okay. He wanted to go home and replay everything he and Nina had said. He took another deep breath. “False alarm.” Leo forced himself to smile back.
“I’ll check on you in a few.” The nurse pursed his lips and left just as Gavin came back in.
“What the hell, dude,” he said. “I leave you alone with snacks and a queen, and she leaves in tears?”
Tears?“Tears?” he asked.
They’d both said things they probably wanted to take back. But if anything, he should be the one curled up in a ball with a pint of ice cream and a box of tissues.
Gavin sighed, and reached into his pocket. He looked away from Leo and started to crack his knuckles as he looked at his phone.
“Ohhhhh,” Gavin said from the corner of the room. “Oh, shit.”
“I just had a panic attack, so choose your words carefully,” Leo warned.
“You don’t want to know about this.” Gavin gnawed on the side of his thumb while eyeing the phone.
“Okay, well now you have to tell me.”
“That asshat Charlie is the new host of the show. Is that why Nina was so upset?”
“The new host of what show?” Leo was confused. Nina had been crying, and Charlie was getting a show?
“Your show, bro.” Gavin handed over his phone, and a headline glared back: Charlie Gauthier Confirms He’s New Host ofThe Next Cooking Champ!
Leo inhaled sharply. Her ex was taking over the show? He quickly skimmed the article, which featured an interview with Charlie where he confirmed Nina would officiallynotbe returning, and neither would Leo.
He realized that he hadn’t even bothered to ask what Charlie had said at their lunch. Suddenly, the hurt she’d been feeling became justified, and his response to that hurt sounded incredibly selfish.
He’d completely fucked up, once again, and hadn’t given Nina enough credit. Of course, she wouldn’t be getting back together with Charlie; she’d said herself what a terrible guy he was. Leo’s own insecurity had talked him into thinking otherwise, and into believing she would never find Leo good enough for her.
The beeping of his heart monitor ticked up until it blared loudly. The nurse reappeared in the room. “I was just about to take these off so you could go home. Did the thought of freedom get you that worked up?” The nurse spoke as he eyed the screens and wrapped a blood-pressure monitor around Leo’s arm.
“No, this is—this is not what you think it is,” Leo tried to explain. “I just saw something on my phone.”
“Didn’t I tell you to keep that away from him until tomorrow?” the nurse asked Gavin pointedly.
“Sorry,” Gavin sheepishly replied. “He tricked me!”
