Page 85 of Thoroughly Innocent Intent

“I did.” I rub my eyes, trying to relieve the tension behind them. What I wouldn’t give to be sitting at our favorite table with a glass of wine, talking face-to-face instead of over the phone.

“Are you going to go?” The question rolls off her tongue so casually it almost sounds like she thinks I should.

“Delaney,” I squeal. “Yesterday you were telling me not to waste any more tears over that man and now you want me to show up to a stranger’s wedding and talk to him?”

“I was being supportive. But really, how much of a stranger can she be if she’s Colt’s ex? And she does make a lot of sense.”

“In what way?”

“You can’t understand his side of things if you don’t talk to him.” I can picture her pointing a manicured nail at me.

“Really, you bought that whole ‘men don’t like to be vulnerable’ excuse she gave me?”

“Well, they don’t. Not in my experience.” It takes every ounce of my willpower not to question that experience right now. “Besides, you yourself said you respect that he was a man who tried to learn from past missteps.”

“And?” I prompt.

“And if that’s true you should give him the opportunity to show that he’s learned.”

“Learned what? Not to use people for his personal gain?”

“Do you really think he was doing that?” she asks softly.

“I don’t know anymore,” I groan. “A few hours ago, I would’ve said yes…” I trail off.

“Well, like his ex said, he tried to volunteer his time even when he had a big game to worry about, which isn’t typical of someone who’s only thinking of himself. And, he didn’t try to keep up the ruse by parading you in front of the press like we thought he would.”

“So, what? Everything his agent said was a lie?”

“Maybe not a lie exactly, but a misunderstanding?”

“That’s a pretty big misunderstanding.”

“It is,” she agrees. “But remember when you two first got together and I was worried he would take advantage of you because of your innocence?”

“Yes,” I say hesitantly, not sure where she’s going with this.

“Well, that was a pretty big misunderstanding.”

“How can you say that? Look at what happened.”

“I am looking at what happened,” she says. “You went from the shy, timid woman I know to a brave and confident one. You found a reason to step outside your comfort zone and pursue a relationship that made you happy. Maybe Colt did too, and maybe his agent just didn’t get to watch that happening in real time like I did, so he expected a version of Colt that doesn’t exist anymore.”

There’s so much packed into that statement I’m not even sure where to begin.

“What version of Colt doesn’t exist?” I whisper.

“The one that exists only on the football field. That guy wouldn’t have picked his head up during the season. The new Colt took the time to get to know his girlfriend’s friend because it was important to her. He carved out time to work on a charity he normally would have written a check to. Plus, he told me he was trying to be a better dad during a time that he’d normally be focused on the game. Without you in his life, I’m not sure he’d have done any of that.”

Colt himself told me that he was breaking a pattern with me, but after speaking to his agent I chalked that up to part of the act. For Delaney to say it gives me some hope that it might be true.

“You really think I’m brave and confident?” I pull on my lip.

“I do.”

“And he’s the reason?”

“He’s not the reason you’re brave or confident, but he is the reason you stepped outside your comfort zone and realized you are.”

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