She hadn’t been intimate with anyone since they’d broken up a year ago, and her sexual frustration had been catching up with her ever since she’d first run into him. Her patience was wearing thin, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She was desperate to have his hands on her body, touching her like he used to. Like she ached for him to.

“Why? It’s not like we haven’t had sex before.”

“Yeah, but we were together at the time. Things were…different then.”

Her heart sank. He didn’t say the words out loud, but he didn’t have to. She could read between the lines. In other words, I was a little thinner and sexier back then.

Even though he’d told her more than once that he wanted to take things slow, Sidney knew something else had been holding him back. Brett hadn’t taken things slow a day in his life. Now it all made sense.

Maybe he hadn’t wanted to hurt her feelings, but she had no choice but to accept his reluctance for what it was. Rejection.

Brett was a good guy. Better than most people realized or gave him credit for. That was partially his own fault since he had a tendency to wear a tough-guy mask and keep his circle of friends tight. Unfortunately, not many others got to see the real man behind the curtain. Sidney was just grateful that, at one time, she’d had her own personal backstage pass. Even if those days were clearly over.

Without saying a word, Sidney reached down and slid both of her heels off. Then she snagged them by the straps with one finger and rose back to a sitting position. “Good night, Brett. Thank you for dinner.”

Brett stared at her with a confused look on his face. “What’s wrong? Are you mad at me for something?”

Clutching her shoes in one hand, she flung the passenger door open and slid out of the truck. Her bare feet splashed into a puddle of cold water as large drops of hard rain pelted against her body. She was getting soaked, but she turned back to him anyway. “No, I’m not mad. I’m hurt. There’s a difference.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, I do.” She shoved a wet strand out of her face. “I understand perfectly. I get that you’re not attracted to me anymore. But you should’ve said so from the beginning rather than inviting me to dinner.”

Brett blinked at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I know I’ve gained some weight, but that doesn’t change who I am.” Her voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes.

He stared at her blankly, not saying a word.

God, this is so embarrassing. She turned to leave.

“Sidney, wait.”