“Adam’s a good listener. When I found out he knew about Helen’s problem, I opened up to him.” He raked his hand through his hair. “It was a tough time. I was going through this horrendous divorce, Helen was taking it hard—started drinking too much, getting into trouble. I couldn’t tell anyone else what was going on. I didn’t want people knowing about Helen’s problem, hoping that I could get her straightened out and back to school, but in the end, it got so bad, I had to put her into rehab. That’s why she didn’t go to college.”

She took his hand. “I knew it was hard on Helen, but I hadn’t realized how much it messed her up. Or how difficult it was for you.”

The waitress returned and refilled their glasses. Ashley took a sip, watching Dare as he stared at his glass.

She sucked in a breath, not wanting to drag him through more emotional turmoil, but needing to find out the answer that was key to them all moving forward.

“You know that it really hurt Adam when you left to move to New York. Why did you end it with him?”

“Fuck, Ash, I never wanted to hurt him. But what I had with Adam…” He gazed at her, his eyes begging her to understand. “It happened too fast, and at a time in my life where I couldn’t really start a relationship. He thought we could make it work. I couldn’t convince him otherwise.” His hand curled into a fist. “Finally, I had to walk away.”

“Abandoning him.”

“What else could I have done?” His jaw twitched. “I tried to make him understand. He wanted to keep trying to make it work, but all I wanted was to be as far away from this town, and all the pain it represented, as I could get.”

“So why didn’t you get in touch with him later? Once your life settled down? I take it you weren’t in love with him.”

The troubled look on Dare’s face shocked her.

Oh, God, it looked like …

Was Dare still in love with Adam?

Her heart skipped a beat. And if so, did she even fit in the picture? Could both Adam and Dare’s feelings for her pale in comparison to what they felt for each other?

“I didn’t try to start up a relationship with him again later for his own good. Once I had time to think about it, I knew it was a bad idea. Adam has always wanted to get married. To have kids. I felt he would be happier meeting a woman and getting those things in a more traditional way than with me.”

“You didn’t want to be a father?”

His eyes filled with pain. “Why would I? Helen is a handful, and I seem to be doing a lousy job. What kind of mess would I make with my own children?”

“So you don’t want to have kids?”