Page 89 of Third Chances (Men of Manhattan 2)

I shook my head. "No. I didn't even stay long enough to make sure you were okay, I..."

"I'm still grateful." He stared at me for a second. "You do, however, owe my brother an apology."

I was a little taken aback by his honesty. "I know. I thought he'd still be out here. Do you know where he went?"

"I'm pretty sure he went looking for you."

"Why?

James smiled. "Because he saw that you were upset, and that's the kind of man he is."

I looked down at my hands. "I'm not sure how much Rob told you about what I said last night..."

"Enough to realize that you were upset by me and not him."

"I wasn't upset with you."

"It's okay. I understand why you would jump to conclusions about me. I think I've done enough to earn people's skepticism."

"That's not why I said what I did." I didn't want James to think I was a judgmental monster for no reason. Why was this still so hard to talk about? "I lost someone close to me because of an overdose. I just...I was worried."

"I'm sorry."

"And I was scared that if I got close to Rob and something happened to you..." my voice caught in my throat.

"If I've learned one thing in my life it's that you need to stop living in the past. It'll eat you up until nothing is left."

"I wish I had you in class. I feel like you were probably a really good professor."

He laughed. "Yeah, maybe."

"Do you ever think about teaching again?"

"I've made my choices and I'm happy with them."

He was too obliterated to remember last night. Which meant he didn't remember confessing that he missed being a professor. But his answer about being happy with his choices seemed so honest. Maybe he wasn't even aware of what he really wanted.

"You don't ever miss it?" I asked.

He lowered his eyebrows slightly. When he did that, he looked so much like Rob. "Sometimes. It was always going to be temporary, though."

I wasn't sure what he meant by that. I shrugged my shoulders. "If you say so. I should probably go find your brother. Any ideas of where he might be?"

"I love him to death, but patience isn't one of his virtues. If he hasn't found you yet, he's probably admitted defeat. Check our room or take a look in some of the bars here."

I laughed. Maybe that was why Rob seemed so surprised when I said love grew from patience. "Okay." I stood up. "Thanks for being so understanding."

"Of course I understand. Like I said, I don't blame you for thinking what you did."

He carried a lot on his shoulders. Why wouldn't he let anyone else help with his burden? He said he was at peace with his past, so why did it seem like he hadn't let it go? At the same time, he didn't appear upset about the conclusions I had jumped to. He just accepted it, adding to the weight on his shoulders, like he could take anything at all. He seemed so invulnerable, the complete opposite of what he was like last night. I can't believe I didn't think he had his life together. He was nothing like Derek. "Penny's a lucky girl."

"I'm the lucky one." The way he said it made it sound like there was no room for doubt. He lifted his book back up, and picked up where he had left off.

Chapter 28

Rob

I didn't want to be in Costa Rica anymore. I wanted to go home. Not to Newark, or my horrible parents, or the guest room at Penny and James' apartment that was actually just my room. I needed to get my own place in New York. The city had always truly been my home, and that was where I needed to be. And I needed to get my shit together. I was sick of fucking easy college chicks. I was sick of having my life up in the air. I needed roots. And I could do that without a girl.

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