Page 242 of A Taste of Vanilla

“And you couldn’t tell me that?” Her chin quivers as her eyes grow shiny.

My tears fall harder. “I was scared.”

“Of me?”

“No.” I shake my head. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m scared of losing you.”

Her face twists. “So you made sure I’d feel betrayed instead?”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “I know.”

She turns to Warren. “Do you love her?”

I turn toward him before I can stop myself, my pulse loud in my ears.

The man looks like someone brought him to the edge of a cliff and asked him to prove that gravity exists.

His gaze moves from me to Marley as he shifts uncomfortably.

Marley laughs, but there’s no humor. “Wow.”

Warren’s face goes pale. “That’s not?—”

“Not simple?” Marley offers.

His mouth closes.

“Complicated? Temporary?”

“Marley,” I whisper.

“No.” She shakes her head. “Forget it.”

Warren takes a step forward and stops himself. “I’m not good at this.”

Her eyes brim with tears again. “That’s not an apology.”

He inhales. Slow and steady. “I’m sorry,” he says.

“For what?”

“For treating you like someone I needed to manage. For not trusting you.”

He looks at me. “For doing the same to you.”

Something squeezes in my chest.

He looks back at Marley. “And for coming back into your life and acting like being useful gave me authority.”

Her lips press together tightly.

“Do you even want to be here?” she asks.

He goes still.

“In Maryland,” she clarifies. “With me. With her. With everything here.”

His gaze drops as he tries to think of the best response.