Page 89 of Fool Me Twice

“Knock, knock,” I called.

He looked up from his telescope, and the air around him changed. Without him asking, I already knew he wanted me to join him.

“Any bats tonight?” I asked, stepping onto the patio.

“Not tonight. Just a lot of clouds.”

“Why are you still out here, then?” I leaned against the railing.

“It clears my mind. Or, at the very least, helps to calm it down.”

“Makes sense.” I wrapped my arms around myself.

“Are you cold?”

“No.” Just uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.

“Ah.” He looked down and frowned.

I drew a shaky breath. “Rodrigo…”

“Did I ruin things between us?” He looked up, and I could just see him using all of his strength to hold himself together.

I choked on my exhale. “N–no…”

“But things are different.”

“You lied to me. I thought you had changed, but you didn’t even want me to meet Lucas. That whole situation is the mirror image of what it was eleven years ago.”

I waved my hands. Now that I was talking, it seemed I couldn’t stop. “And I’m so glad that you’re doing the right thing now, that you told Sebastián the truth and you’re coming clean, but… but…”

“You do not trust me.”

I dropped my hands. “It’s hard.”

He licked his lips. “I made a terrible mistake. I should never have kept Lucas from you.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“Because I didn’t want him to tell you about Sebastián before I did.” He turned his face away, ashamed.

“And yet, after all that work you put into trying to control the situation, I found out anyway.”

“In retrospect, it was a terrible idea.”

I snorted. “I should say so.”

“I understand if you cannot forgive me.”

“It’s not that,” I said softly. Turning, I grabbed hold of the railing and studied the cloudy sky. “I’m just wondering… where do we go from here? What’s next?”

How do we get to a point where I can trust you?

“I hate myself for what I did to you,” Rodrigo said.

My eyes burned. “I know.”

“I could promise you the world, Georgia, but it wouldn’t mean much. Only actions and time will.”