Swallowing the guilt he felt, he breathed out slowly. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I understand why you walked away from me. Maybe at the time I couldn’t see it, but now I know for sure you were right in doing so.”

Sidney’s gaze fell to her hands as she picked at her fingernail. “Well, I’m sorry too.”

He shook his head adamantly. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

Her eyes rose, meeting his. “Sure I do. I hurt you, didn’t I?”

Brett nodded solemnly. “Of course I was hurt. Valentine’s Day was the worst day of my life. But honestly, it changed me for the better and made me realize what a jackass I’ve truly been.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know all about my overprotective tendencies and my need to control everything. Well, after losing you, Valerie and I had a similar incident.”

“Oh, you mean the bar fight with Logan?”

Damn. Gossip sure traveled fast. “Yep, that’s the one. I came unglued when I found out my best friend was sleeping with my little sister.”

She nodded. “I had a feeling that would happen. I once saw them in the movie theater looking pretty cozy and wondered if you knew that something was going on with them.”

“I didn’t at first. When I found out, I hit the roof, and it caused problems between the three of us. So much so that Valerie threatened to disown me. But after losing you and hearing you say that you never wanted to see me again…well, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing another important person in my life. That’s what saved my relationship with my sister and my best friend.”

Sidney smiled. “I’m glad to hear that everything worked out for you.”

He shrugged. “Well, not everything. I still lost you in the end. But you walking away made me realize that I was the one with the problem. Not you. Not Valerie or Logan. It was all on me. So I started seeing a therapist to help me work through my issues. It’s been a big help.”

“That’s great. I’m happy you’re finally talking to someone about these things. You needed that.”

Brett rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah, I did. Especially after you were out of my life. You were the only person I told a lot of that stuff to. When you left, I didn’t have anyone to talk to about my problems anymore.”

“I’m really sorry, Brett. I just figured a clean break would do us both good. I figured that once we got past our feelings for each other, we could try going back to being just friends. But I…well, I’ve been busy and haven’t crossed paths with you up until now.”