Knowing I’d need to be a little more forceful than I was currently being, I grabbed Rita’s shoulders and pushed her away from me. Her eyes flashed open in surprise; I generally wasn’t rough or dismissive with her. Honestly, I’d tolerated her relentless flirting for far too long, and this wasn’t entirely her fault. I made my voice gentle, but firm. “I know we had a thing once, but that was years ago, and I’ve moved on. We’ve both moved on.” I pointedly looked at her wedding ring. It was a different husband now than when we’d been together, which meant a new opportunity for her to be faithful. And she should be faithful…or she shouldn’t be married. “But I’m with Kiera now, and your constant flirting isn’t appropriate. Neither is your gossiping about things we did together. I would appreciate it if, in the future, both of those things would stop…please.”

She only stared at me, stunned, and I suddenly realized we should have had this conversation ages ago. I hopped over the bar, then untied my apron and handed it to her. “Thank you, Rita, it was fun.” But it’s definitely over. She pouted as she took my apron, but she didn’t object. Thank God.

Soft smile on her face, Kiera took my hand and started leading us toward Denny. But Denny had already decided to approach us, and the two of them almost collided. Denny and Kiera both laughed in a similar, friendly way. I waited for the jealousy to hit me…but it didn’t, and its absence made me smile.

Grinning brightly, Denny looped an arm around his girlfriend’s waist and said, “Kiera, Kellan, this is my girlfriend, Abby.”

Abby extended her hand to Kiera first; she didn’t look at all fazed by the fact that Kiera had once been very important to her boyfriend. It delighted me that Denny had found someone who was that secure in their relationship. I doubted Abby would ever cheat on him. And thinking that made me feel even worse. Kiera cheated on him because of me. Because I hadn’t been able to live up to my promise. Because I basically sucked as a human being.

In a pleasant, accented voice, Abby said, “Hello Kiera, it’s nice to finally meet you.” From what I could tell, there was nothing but genuine warmth behind the sentiment. God…she was just as remarkably forgiving as Denny.

Kiera seemed amazed by that too as she subtly examined Denny’s girlfriend. I found it amusing that Denny’s current flame was so different appearance-wise than his old flame: long blonde hair, pale gray eyes, and way more self-esteem. I also found it amusing that I’d always pictured him with a blonde, and here he was, finally dating a blonde.