But Sam wasn’t ready to move on just yet. “You asked me what the police have told me about Blake and this woman. Jennifer, right?”

“Right.”

“They’ve told me enough. And so has Blake. I know what it means that the police think he might be involved in this murder. I know they dated while we were apart.” She chewed on the piece of skin around her nail again. She seemed to have forgotten about the close-up photo of her hand coming the next day. “He’s not the only one who saw other people. I did too. I’m not a doormat, Ryan. But Blake told me the truth. It was over when we got back together and he proposed. It was over then. For good. Anyone who says anything else is lying. Blake and I understand each other. We do.”

“I understand, Sam. I’m glad you feel that way.”

She stopped chewing on her finger. “He told me other things, Ryan. He told me things about you too. He told me everything about the accident and who was driving that night.”

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

I’d kept the engine running, but the air in the cabin started to feel close and stifling.

I reached with my left hand and pressed a button, lowering the window next to me a few inches, letting in cooling fresh air. Traffic sounds came in, the whooshing of cars, the honking of horns.

“Why did he tell you about that?” I asked.

Sam leaned a little closer. Her hair fell forward across her face again, and she brushed it back. “When we got back together this last time, we wanted to know everything about each other, Ryan. We wanted to have all of that in the open. He told me Amanda doesn’t know the truth about the accident. And I get it. Look at the lampshade thing. Amanda can be unforgiving. Maybe it’s best if she doesn’t know. I can’t say. With what happened to her sister . . .”

I shifted my weight, letting my body fall back against the seat. I sank against the cloth material, felt the light breeze against my face. And it brought a small amount of relief.

“Do you think differently about me, knowing that?” I asked. “Knowing the role I played in the accident? Don’t you look at me in a different way?”

She sounded believable when she said, “We all make mistakes, Ryan. None of us are perfect. You and Blake were there. You were driving, sure. But I love you both. Isn’t it time to move on from that? To not have that grip you so tightly? We all do what we do in the moment, and then we have to live with it. Right?”

She sounded so wise. She made it so simple and clear. But I couldn’t buy it all. Not yet.