Bianca had to laugh as she stepped outside remembering the image Gio had downloaded and texted her of him hurling the guy’s camera clear across the parking lot. That was one of the last times either of them had checked or read any of the stories.

She turned back to Felix ready to hear the rest of his story. It was odd that they both stood there smiling even if for just a fleeting moment. She crossed her arms ready to finish this and cleared her throat. “So, you were saying?”

His wandering eyes started up again, wearing her patience thin. She didn’t want to be out here all day. “Shelley’s pregnant—with my kid.” Again Bianca held her jaw up but it was harder this time. “I didn’t tell her she should have an abortion. I just said at that time in my life I wasn’t ready for a kid. But that’s what the headlines everywhere are saying. And the only reason I didn’t tell her about you was because by the time I found out she was pregnant I’d already fallen for you hard. I was afraid she’d keep the baby just to spite me and I treated her pretty badly. Said some really nasty shit to her in hopes that she wouldn’t wanna have my kid because I was scared to death of losing you. I broke it off completely, Bianca I swear to you. You changed everything. You changed me. Everything was different with you—”

Bianca raised her hand. She’d heard enough. “Okay, you can spare me all the bullshit, Felix. None of that matters anymore, now does it? I honestly don’t care if you’ve changed or not. Just explain to me why you felt the need to come here and tell me all this now.”

He looked down at his feet and moved the snow around with the tip of his boot. Just another way to keep his eyes off hers. “You really didn’t know any of that?”

Bianca crossed her arms again and shook her head exasperated. “No, I didn’t Felix. What difference does it make now anyway?”

“Well, now that Shelley sold her story to the tabloids, they’re saying maybe you did this to get back at me. That maybe that’s why you and him aren’t even together anymore, you just wanted to hurt me like I hurt you.”

“What?” she gasped.

“And, and...” he added quickly, his previously wandering eyes now fixed on hers. “If that’s true, then I deserve it, Bianca. I understand why you did it. It makes sense now why you stopped sleeping with me. I suspected you might know—even suspected you might be having some kind of flirtation with someone because of it but I never imagined that you and Gio—”

“That is not why I did it,” she huffed. “Believe it or not, Felix, I never set out to deliberately hurt you. I can’t believe you would even think such a thing. It just happened.”

“Okay, okay.” Now he held out his hands. “Maybe it was just karma then. Maybe I just deserved to be hurt. Which is what I was really thinking this whole time. I was a total dick with Shelley but now that’s all out in the open.” He tilted his head. “And now that we’re even, maybe we can still work something out.” His eyes went all sad on her and Bianca could barely believe what she was hearing. “I know after what I just told you, you probably don’t believe this anymore but I really am in love with you. I would’ve never even considered trying to work something out with any other girl after something like this but I’m telling you, with you, it’s different.”

The sincerity mixed with alarm made her nervous. And then he let out a breath and frowned.“Andy wanted me to threaten her. Threaten to go after her with everything I had. Dig up any skeletons she might have and threaten to go public with them. All for the sake of intimidating her into having the abortion.” He looked away and Bianca sensed he couldn’t look at her anymore. She was almost afraid to hear more. “I might’ve done it if this had happened before I met you. I actually considered it then I thought what if it was you. What if this had happened when I first ran into you again, before I really got to know you and I’d done this to you. I didn’t know much about her either but I kept thinking she could be just another sweet and special girl like you, who I’d be screwing with just to cover my own ass—I couldn’t do it. That’s when I realized I’m not the same guy I used to be and it’s because of you. I’m giving her whatever she needs and I plan on being there for my kid but there’s nothing else going on between me and her. So I guess…” His eyes looked deep into hers for a moment then looked away again. “I guess I was hoping this was just your way of giving me a taste of what I deserved but maybe now that you had you might consider giving me a second chance.”

Bianca stared at him flabbergasted, for a moment before shaking her head and speaking. “Felix, I’m sorry that I hurt you. I really am. But let me assure you I am not that type of person. I would never play those kinds of games just for the sake of revenge. I wish that I could explain to you why I did it. Why it happened but I don’t even understand it yet myself.” She brought up her hand and waved it over her head. “And this. All this craziness with the media is why Gio and I haven’t been together lately. Not because we’ve stopped seeing each other but because I don’t want to give them anymore to write about. I want it to just go away already so that seeing him won’t be such a circus.”

The disappointment in his eyes made her feel guiltier and at that moment she knew everything he’d said about how he’d changed after falling for her was true. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. “I believe you, Felix. I believe you’ve changed and that’s good for you. But my heart is in another place now. I can’t do anything about that… I don’t want to.”