“Too busy?”

She nods. “The weekend is our busiest time, which I’m sure you deal with too.”

“Definitely. Real glad Charlie will be back tomorrow,” I say seriously. “We’ve been able to manage everything, but it runs a lot smoother when the boss man is there.”

“I still can’t believe Candice was able to convince Charlie to go on a honeymoon right now, during the busiest time of year for him,” Amelia says, slowly shaking her head.

“Right? We were surprised too. But that man will do absolutely anything for her,” I say.

“They do seem madly in love with each other,” she says, her expression turning…

Pained?

Hmm.

The server returns with our wine and pours us each a glass. I tell him our appetizer order and we go ahead and order dinner as well. Once he’s gone, Amelia contemplates me for a moment, taking a small sip of her wine before she starts talking.

“I broke up with my boyfriend three months ago.”

I visibly don’t react. At least, I don’t think I do. “You mentioned that to me at the wedding.”

“Oh,” she murmurs. “Right. Did I mention that we used to live together?”

I swallow hard. “No. Uh…sounds like it was serious.”

“At one point, it was very serious. I thought I was going to marry him,” she says, her voice soft. “But the last six months of our relationship, things weren’t good between us. Longer than that, really. We were very much on and off for a long time.”

“I haven’t had too many serious relationships,” I confess, feeling downright inept. This woman has done a lot more than me with her life.

“You’re young,” she says. “And I’m a little wary when it comes to relationships after getting out of such a long one that was also toxic.”

I nod, mulling that word over in my mind. I’m about as nontoxic as it gets. I’m not one to suffer through drama. Most of the time I avoid it. I don’t like to argue or fight for no reason. It doesn’t take much to make me happy. I’m a simple guy.

“Sounds like he was a real keeper,” I mutter when I can’t think of anything else to say.

Amelia starts to laugh, covering her mouth with her hand and muting the noise, which is a damn shame.

She has the prettiest laugh in the world.

“He was awful,” she says once the laughter has died down. “I don’t know why I thought I wanted to marry him. Was I that down on myself that I was so willing to settle?”

She sounds so damn sad. And this guy sounds like a complete asshole. “That’s some straight-up bullshit if you ask me.”

“Oh?” Her eyes widen the slightest bit. She’s looking at me as if she doesn’t believe what I’m saying. This is probably how much the guy has warped her. “Why do you say that?”

“Why wouldn’t a guy want you hanging out with your friends? When you’re in a relationship, you shouldn’t spend all of your time together. That’s the quickest path to boredom. What would you talk about? Don’t you think you’d get sick of each other?” I reach for my wine and take a big gulp, wincing as it goes down. I’m guessing it’s an acquired taste. I’d much rather have a beer.