"James?"
He looked up from his book and smiled. "Hey, Daphne."
I didn't deserve that smile. Why was he so nice? He should be angry at me. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"I was hoping you would." He put down his book and turned toward me. "I'm assuming you got my note?"
I nodded. Again, I hadn't planned what to say. I sat down in the empty seat beside him. "I owe you an apology."
"You don't, actually. If anything, I should be thanking you for looking out for me last night."
I shook my head. "No. I didn't even stay long enough to make sure you were okay, I..."
"I'm still grateful." He stared at me for a second. "You do, however, owe my brother an apology."
I was a little taken aback by his honesty. "I know. I thought he'd still be out here. Do you know where he went?"
"I'm pretty sure he went looking for you."
"Why?
James smiled. "Because he saw that you were upset, and that's the kind of man he is."
I looked down at my hands. "I'm not sure how much Rob told you about what I said last night..."
"Enough to realize that you were upset by me and not him."
"I wasn't upset with you."
"It's okay. I understand why you would jump to conclusions about me. I think I've done enough to earn people's skepticism."
"That's not why I said what I did." I didn't want James to think I was a judgmental monster for no reason. Why was this still so hard to talk about? "I lost someone close to me because of an overdose. I just...I was worried."
"I'm sorry."
"And I was scared that if I got close to Rob and something happened to you..." my voice caught in my throat.
"If I've learned one thing in my life it's that you need to stop living in the past. It'll eat you up until nothing is left."
"I wish I had you in class. I feel like you were probably a really good professor."
He laughed. "Yeah, maybe."
"Do you ever think about teaching again?"
"I've made my choices and I'm happy with them."
He was too obliterated to remember last night. Which meant he didn't remember confessing that he missed being a professor. But his answer about being happy with his choices seemed so honest. Maybe he wasn't even aware of what he really wanted.
"You don't ever miss it?" I asked.
He lowered his eyebrows slightly. When he did that, he looked so much like Rob. "Sometimes. It was always going to be temporary, though."
I wasn't sure what he meant by that. I shrugged my shoulders. "If you say so. I should probably go find your brother. Any ideas of where he might be?"
"I love him to death, but patience isn't one of his virtues. If he hasn't found you yet, he's probably admitted defeat. Check our room or take a look in some of the bars here."
I laughed. Maybe that was why Rob seemed so surprised when I said love grew from patience. "Okay." I stood up. "Thanks for being so understanding."
