"When I feel like it. And my name is Mara, not Mar-Mar. You know I hate that nickname."
"But you used to love it when I called Mar-Mar while we were making love."
I huffed. "No, I hated it then too. You ignored me when I told you so."
"We were good together. Let's not throw that away."
Good together? Was he on drugs? And he had filed for divorce, so he had no right to imply I'd thrown our relationship away. He did that all on his own. I knew my ditsy behavior had pushed him away, but he hadn't even tried to work things out. Even when I'd learned about his infidelity, I tried to work it out with him. What an idiot. I was better off without him.
"You and I are divorced," I told him. "That's the definition of 'over.' Stop calling and texting me, Nico, or I'll get a restraining order."
I hung up on him. And I had no idea if I could get a restraining order because my ex-husband was annoying the hell out of me. I hoped the threat would convince him to go away.
A throat-clearing behind me made me jump and squeak.
"Sorry," Ollie said, coming around in front of me. He wore his backup glasses, which looked just like his wrecked ones. "Didn't mean to scare you, but I kind of thought you hadn't noticed me there. Guess I could've done something more smooth to let you know."
"It's fine." I got up. "Let's go for that hike."
He screwed up his mouth and hummed like he was trying to decide whether to tell me something.
"What is it?" I asked, sounding a touch more...touchy than I'd intended.
"I sort of accidentally overheard the last part of that phone call. Your end of it, anyway."
"Oh." My shoulders slumped. "I suppose you figured out I was talking to my ex-husband."
"Yeah." He took my hand. "Let's talk while we walk."
I let him lead me down the nature trail into the woods. Birds twittered and sang. The breeze ruffled the trees. Above us, the sunlight filtered down to the ground, muted by the foliage, and its warmth seemed muted too. The heat I'd experienced while watching Ollie do yoga had given way to a slight chill.
Ollie led me down the path until we reached a spot where a downed tree lay alongside the trail. He motioned for me to sit on it.
I settled my bottom onto the tree. It was surprisingly comfortable to use as a bench.
He sat right next to me and clasped my hand again. "You don't have to tell me anything."
"But I want to. Not sure why, but I feel like I should tell you."
"We hardly know each other. You don't owe me anything." He clasped my other hand too. "But I'm here if you need to talk."
"It's my ex. Our divorce was finalized six months ago, and I haven't heard from him since. Until the day I arrived here, and he texted me to say he wants me back." I turned my face toward Ollie. "Nico called me today to say he misses me and wants to give it another try."
"What do you want?"
"Not him." I moaned again, even more miserably this time. "He cheated on me. I mean, he used to tell me all the time how I don't behave like a proper lady, then he goes and screws the checkout girl at the grocery store." I gritted my teeth. "At the store."
"He sounds like a real prick." Ollie gave my hands a little squeeze. "And he's obviously a moron. He had an incredible woman like you, and he went and fucked some checkout girl? If I ever meet him, I'll punch his lights out."
Maybe his anger should have shocked me, possibly even disgusted me, but it didn't. I got a funny warmth in my chest when he threatened to deck my ex. Nobody had ever taken my side when they found out Nico had cheated, and definitely not when we got divorced.
"You're so sweet, Ollie," I said. "But how can you be sure he's the idiot? Maybe I messed things up."
"No way. I get that you've got this complex about thinking you're a mess and screw everything up, but I don't see that at all. You're amazing."
"I feel so good when I'm with you. The sex was incredible, and I really want to do that again, but maybe we should spend some time getting to know each other first." I hunched my shoulders, afraid he might say no to the next part. "Like maybe a week with no sex?"
"Sure. Let's do that."