“No!” I took a deep breath. “When we were together, she wasn’t ready to come out,” I said. “I didn’t like having to hide our relationship, but I understood. She hasn’t even come out to her family yet. Jesus, Levi!”

I willed him to say something, but he seemed more at a loss than I was. I knew he was stalling and I knew why—he didn’t know how to approach this any more than I did, but it was hell waiting for his response. I knew it was entirely unfair to expect him to take the lead on what was absolutely my fault, but everything felt so adrift that it was all I could do to stay upright.

“Levi,” I whispered.

This seemed to snap him out of it. He swallowed once, hard, then ran a hand through his hair, savagely enough to look disheveled. “I get it,” he said. “I just … I wish you’d said something before we saw—”

“I know.” I took his hands between mine. “I don’t even have the words. I was horrified when I saw—”

“No, they were beautiful.” Levi shook his head. “I recognized you immediately. Only someone who knew you really well could have—” He broke off. “I had no idea she was this talented. I’ve seen her sketches before, but they were nothing like this.”

Those sketches weren’t just talent. They were anger, too. I’d seen it in Elodie’s face when she looked at me. I’d seen it in the harsh strokes of charcoal across the canvas. She’d done them in a furor, and they were masterpieces. Her art wasn’t just beautiful—it was her. In painting the sorrow on my face, she’d exposed something else, too. Herself. Anyone who saw her work would wonder at the artist’s relationship to the subject. It wasn’t a huge leap to make.

Whether she knew it or not, this had been her coming out.

“I think I need some water,” Levi said.

“Do you want me to come wi—”

“No.”

I nodded, throat choked up. “Okay.” When he left, I closed my eyes. Shame prickled down my neck. I hadn’t intended to hide things from Levi, truly I hadn’t. But as long as Elodie didn’t say anything, things went on as they had been. I’d thought after she’d come to the lighthouse, she understood that there wasn’t any hope for us. I’d been wrong. If her art was anything to go by, she’d taken my turning her away as a challenge. As something she had to prove.

“Babe?”

My eyes flew open. Elodie.

“Did he ditch you?” she asked, a mini-scowl on her lips. She glanced around.