“Oh?” I asked. “Tell me about it.”
“Well,” Michael said with a soft chuckle. “Josh came over yesterday, and that didn’t go very well.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant to come between you and your brother.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Michael said. “None of this is your fault, Julie.”
“I know,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean I want to see you hurt.”
“The only thing that’s hurting me is being away from you,” Michael said. My heart skipped a beat. “Josh isn’t even on my radar right now.”
“I’m sorry for avoiding you,” I said. “I just wasn’t ready to talk yet.”
“I understand,” Michael said. “What I did was pretty unforgivable.”
“Why did you do it?” I asked. “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth that day in the café?”
Michael hesitated. I could tell he was thinking how best to respond. I waited patiently, just happy to finally talk to him again.
“I didn’t know how you would react,” Michael said. “I thought you would freak out and run away.”
I laughed. “I might have. I left Dallas to escape Joshua. If I knew I’d met his brother during my first week in town, I probably would have lost it.”
“Exactly,” Michael said. “And I hated that. I just wanted to get to know you. You have to know that I never intended for things to go so far. When I sat down to talk to you, it was just to talk. I didn’t think I would like you so much.”
“Why did you talk to me at all?” I asked softly.
“I knew about your relationship with Josh,” Michael said. “I knew how he treated you, and I knew you didn’t deserve it. I can’t tell you how many times he pissed me off when we would talk about you.”
“I can imagine,” I said. “Joshua was never very kind when it came to me.”
“He told me about your breakup,” Michael said. “And then, there you were. Just sitting in the café. I was surprised, but I also couldn’t walk away. It was like a magnet was pulling me to you. There was nothing I could do to fight it.”
I closed my eyes and listened to his voice. Everything he said sounded perfect. It was exactly what I’d wanted to hear for days now. But I was scared. Terrified. The idea of getting hurt again was almost too much to bear.
“I’m sorry I lied,” Michael said. “It was wrong.”
“I think I understand,” I said weakly. “It wasn’t an easy situation.”
“That doesn’t make it right,” Michael said firmly. “I fucked up.”
“You really did.” I laughed.
Michael laughed with me, and soon, we were just talking. I told him all about Christmas with my family, and he told me about the trouble he’d been having at work. We talked for hours, steering clear of any more emotional topics. Instead, we laughed a lot and bantered back and forth just like always.
By the time our conversation came to an end, I felt lighter and more like myself. I still wasn’t ready to forgive Michael for everything, and I didn’t know where we stood, but I wanted to see him.
“When do you get back to town?” Michael asked.
“Tomorrow,” I said.
“Can I see you?” Michael asked. There was a hint of nervousness in his voice that made me smile.
“Yes,” I said. “I told you. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” Michael said.
“Well, tomorrow it is then.”