make. I just seem to set him off every time he sees me.”
“You think you didn’t set him off before?” He grinned. “You think you two never crossed sparks? You did all the time. It’s what made your relationship so fun to watch. He always thought you were too independent. It used to bug the hell out of him. Deep down, he feared you didn’t need him the way he needed you. I guess in some way, this is just the same old argument magnified about a thousand times.”
He reached for her hand, and she noticed their fingers were the same length. The same shape. His were thicker, more masculine, but their hands were similar. Worn. Weathered. Solid.
“He’s a good guy, Kate.” One side of his lips curled in a smirk as he studied her fingers, and the dimple she’d seen so many times in the mirror creased his cheek. “God, it’s weird to call you that. But I’ll get used to it. You just have to give him time too. This hurts him because he wants more from you than you can give him right now.”
She almost laughed. “He’s got beautiful women draped over him all the time. What could he possibly want from me?”
“You really don’t know?” There was amusement in his voice. “He wants you back.”
An ache settled in her chest. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to give him what he wants.”
“You have to jump off that bridge when you get to it. In the meantime, think about Julia and Reed and how you’re going to handle them. That’s the most important thing at this point.”
“I know.”
He hesitated, then said, “You also have to understand that knowing you were married, that you were with someone else, it’s eating away at him.”
Frustration welled inside. “Well, that’s just great. He can go off with a different woman every weekend, but I happened to be in a committed relationship and I’m the one feeling guilty.”
“Ryan may date, but he hasn’t opened his heart to anyone since you left. I think the realization that you did is what’s making this so hard. He loves you as much as he did before you disappeared, and you don’t. That hurts him.”
She closed her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Were you in love with the other guy?” he asked gently.
She pushed off the bench, unable to sit anymore. “I thought I was. Although now I’m wondering why. There were inconsistencies, but I thought it was the stress of my illness. Of his job. How could I have been so wrong about someone? It makes me question my judgment.”
Mitch crossed to her. “There’s a reason all of this happened. You have to believe that.”
“I don’t really know what I believe anymore.”
“I’ll tell you one thing.” He slipped on his sunglasses. “I believe in a higher power pushing all of us together. I never used to, but I do now. You can’t not believe when you look at the situation.”
“How can you think that? How can you believe God would let us go through this hell?”
“Because you have to think of the alternative. If it hadn’t happened the way it did, you’d have been on that plane. You’d really be gone now. There’d be no second chances. There’d be no Reed.”
She hadn’t thought of it that way. The realization sent a chill down her spine.
“I have to get back,” he said. As they turned and headed back out of the park, he shot her a look. “You know, we need to call my…our,” he corrected, “parents.”
She grimaced. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
“I was thinking maybe Sunday, after you and Ryan have a chance to see the kids. I’d really like you to be there when I call them. We could do it at my house, if that makes you more comfortable.”
She nodded, though what she wanted to do most was run away.
“They’re going to want to fly right down and see you.”
“I thought of that too.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not on your life. They’re good people, Kate. I’ll be there with you.”
“Okay.” She blew out another breath, wanting to lighten the mood. “So, I hear you’ve got the hots for my lawyer.”
“Why? Did she say something about me?”
Kate couldn’t help it. She laughed. He looked and sounded like a middle schooler. “You like her.”
“Yeah, I do. But this might not be the best time to start something.”