59

“This morning, I was being an asshole. I was being selfish. I was avoiding what I knew I needed to do because I didn’t know how to do it.” He exhaled. “I shouldn’t have acted that way. You didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.”

“That doesn’t change what you said and what you meant.”

His eyes dropped from mine for only a second, and I knew he was so far outside his comfort zone, this discussion so unlike anything he normally had.

“You’re right; it doesn’t. But for what it’s worth, my feelings for you this morning were as strong as they are now.”

I wanted to get to the bottom of this, so I said, “Something’s changed. What was it?”

He shifted, and the brief movement sent me his cologne. “While you were at the bar with the cowboy, I was talking to Walter and Jenner about you.”

“Really?”

His expression softened. “Walter saw right through me. He immediately knew I had feelings for you, which came as a surprise to Jenner. What I learned from that chat was that Jenner had gone through the same