Toby looked at her. “He didn’t sell it, Reggie. He lost it. He didn’t pay the lease or for his inventory, and they took it from him. He got mad and blamed me for not doing enough.” He looked away. “He came after me with a baseball bat the day he lost the store. I knew then if I stayed, he would kill me. So I took off.”

“What?”

The word burst out before she could stop it. One corner of Toby’s mouth turned up.

“You thought I left because of you?”

There was no way to change the truth, she thought, fighting embarrassment. “It crossed my mind. We’d just broken up, and it was all your fault. I thought you were handling it badly.”

“I did. I was crushed, but I didn’t take off because of you.”

“I’m chagrined.”

“Don’t be. It’s a logical thing to assume. And speaking of mistakes, I didn’t blab about that night.”

She stared at her wine, not sure what to say.

The night of prom, after dating for more than a year and knowing she would love Toby forever, she’d finally been ready to give herself to him. They’d gotten close dozens of times, but she’d always held back on going all the way. But that night, knowing how much he meant to her, she’d given him her virginity. Tuesday morning at school, Paisley had warned her everyone was talking about the fact that Toby had told the football team she was the best sex of his life.

She’d been devastated by the betrayal and humiliated beyond words. She’d called her mom to ask if she could come home. When her dad found out, he’d threatened to take Toby out back. She’d told him she would take care of Toby herself and had broken up with him. Three days later, he’d been gone.

“It wasn’t me,” he repeated. “Reggie, you know me well enough to know I wouldn’t do that.”

She raised her gaze to his. “I didn’t think you would, but then how did it happen?”

“I don’t know. I only told Brian.” He grimaced. “It was in the locker room, so someone must have overheard us. That’s the only thing I can think of to explain what happened.” He looked into her eyes. “I loved you, and I would never have knowingly hurt you.”

Despite the years and the miles, hearing him say he’d loved her still gave her the same tingle it had back when she’d been all of seventeen.

“I know,” she told him. “I didn’t then, not at first, but I do now, and I believe you. It was just such a shock and so awful. Even after we broke up, I assumed we would figure it out, but then you were gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”