I was pinned by her steady stare. Andrea really needed to look into law enforcement or something. She’d never do that with her past—I get that—but damn if she didn’t have the detective hardness in her voice. I had a choice right then. I could tell her what I wanted to say, or I could tell the truth. Sometimes lying was the easiest thing to do, especially when I was lying to myself. And saying the truth out loud meant I could never take it back.

“Okay,” I said. “I still love him.” Once those words came out, I expected balloons and glitter to fall from the ceiling or something. Of course, that didn’t happen. “I’m in love with him.”

Andrea nodded slowly. “Then what do you want, Sydney?”

I dumped the half-eaten bread on my plate. “I don’t know. Like, I guess I thought he’d try to repair the friendship or something.”

“But you don’t want just a friendship.”

“No.”

Her brow rose. “But you don’t want a relationship?”

I opened my mouth.

Andrea leaned forward. “I get that you’re mad, and trust me, you have every right. Kyler has spent how long being the universal bicycle that had no training wheels? And he has a lot to make up for, because his actions hurt you. And I’m not saying you even have to forgive him. Honestly, I’d totally understand if you didn’t. Guys suck, Kyler among them, but…” She tapped her fingers. “But if you are in love with him, and not forgiving him hurts more than forgiving him does, Syd, and he wants to make it up to you, you’d be a fool to walk away from that.”

Knots formed in my belly as I stared at my friend. Not forgiving Kyler would hurt worse in the end, even if we only remained friends. Holding on to the anger would create nothing but bitterness. But I also didn’t want to be the person who gave so much of herself to someone who didn’t deserve it and ended up never being whole again.

I sighed, unsure of what to do or say. “I don’t know, Andrea. Maybe after some time passes, things will go back to normal.” I felt stronger for saying that. Hopeful. Maybe we could move past this, eventually. That seemed more likely than Kyler professing his undying love for me. “I guess we’ll just see.”

“You’re right. We will see.”

I raised a brow at her.

Andrea leaned back, dropping her hands on her legs. “All right, well, don’t hate me.”

Suspicion blossomed and spread like a weed through my mind. “Why would I hate you?”

A sheepish look crept into her expression.

“Andrea.”

She bit down on her lip and cringed. “I sort of invited guests to our dinner.”

My stomach roiled. “What?”