The Next Best Thing: Part II

Fifty-Six

Min

"My date's off the cards now, huh?" Eoin asked, mock sulking at me. "I was really stoked for that, Min."

"It was never on the cards Eoin," I giggled in amusement. "Zoe just loves to lead you on. She's an enabler."

"I miss her already, by the way." I witnessed that little twinkle in his eye and the wildfire burning in his chest when he talked about her, and I witnessed firsthand how much he felt about her. How much he truly loved my best-friend. "But I like that Mitchell fellow. I used to want to rip him into pieces for breaking Zoe and making it impossible for her to move on."

"Oh bless, Eoin. FYI, she liked you a lot more than you thought when you were still flirting with her. I wouldn't be surprised if she's liked you since the day she met you," I preached to him, biting into my fourth brioche courtesy of his mad skills.

Zoe was had at hello; it just took her long enough, and Rae nagging hard enough, to figure it out.

"I fell in love with her when she broke down in my arms for the first time. I knew that she was the One even when she told me she was still in love with him. She's still the One, the only one, and I fall in love with her everyday. She's all I've ever wanted, Min. And I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. I must sound like an idiot right now," he blushed in embarrassment, nervously running his fingers through his hair.

It was pretty clear why Zoe and a throng of other women were attracted to him - he was very easy on the eyes - but it took such a personal confession from him to understand why she was in love with him. Eoin was the most amazing soul, drawn to Zoe for so much more than her pretty, vulnerable exterior.

Eoin had been searching for his soulmate and he found her in my Zoe. I'd never been so obsessed with one pairing as I was with these two. Their kind of love only happened to you once. If the opportunity was wasted, you would never get to see or feel anything like it again.

"No, you don't. Idiots don't appreciate what they have in front of them and let it slip through their fingers. You're not by any means an idiot, Eoin Macken."

He fell into a contemplative silence, his mouth drawn into a tight line choosing his next words carefully. "What is it?"

"Is that what happened to you?" His eyes drifted to my large belly and they met mine again. "Was he an idiot and did he not appreciate you?" He was talking about Lyle. I had to sit down.

"No, it's more like I was the idiot and I didn't appreciate him. This," I said, holding my baby bump, "is what happened when I eventually did. Because I didn't know better, I became an idiot again and I pushed him away for good this time. Now he's very happy and I'm still very lonely."

I don't know what it is about Eoin, but I didn't mind just confiding in him about everything. He reminded me so much of Zoe and he was turning out to be a great confidant.

"And you're still very much in love with him," he concluded for me. "Isn't about time you moved on? Not from him, not immediately, but from your past with him?"

"Maybe. Maybe it is," I shrugged.

I couldn't be hung up on Lyle for the rest of my life. No. I deserved to be happy and deserved to be in love. I was already in love with my daughter, but I also deserved to be loved.

"Great! I'm taking you out to celebrate, Zoe's orders, and who knows? We might meet your future husband," he grinned, idiotically this time.

...

Mitchell

My gaze never faltered, my ears entranced by her sweet, mesmerising voice. My eyes were enthralled by just how beautiful she was, how she had a glow about her, and how her hair caught the auburn sun rays filtering into the cafe. She was beautiful. She was Zoe.

She said something that made her laugh, igniting a spark in the depths of my chest. Her eyes shone bright when she laughed and I was thrown a pretty pouty Zoe smile. Those lips, God! those lips, the lips that used to kiss me enthusiastically and lovingly, the lips that took me to a place of love and pure ecstasy. I missed those lips. I missed her.

I watched her kiss Eoin earlier and my heart tore a little bit more. She never kissed me like she did him, she never looked at me the way she looked at him, and that broke my heart. She was so happy and it wasn't because of me. I'd broken her heart and that pain, that anger and that betrayal would never go away. Nothing would ever go back to the way it used to be between us. I had to accept that. I was happy because she was happy. That's all I ever wanted her to be, even if it was without me.

"...so now I'm still living with Min but I have a stable job, a degree and I'll probably be going back to school soon. What about you?" she smiled genuinely.

"Well, I have my own place in LA now. I bought it about a year ago but because I was so busy and because of us, I really had no use for it until now," I replied her. "I'm all set to move in. We're on break from tour and..."

"Because of us?" she interrupted in a small voice. "What do you mean?"

"I meant I had no use for it when we broke up because I bought it for us. For our anniversary. I was going to take you down there in November to celebrate and ask you to move in with me." I said all of that in my most nonchalant tone of voice because I thought it wouldn't hurt as much when I finally said those words out loud to somebody, to her. It did.

"Mitchell, why didn't you tell me? And don't tell me it's because you wanted to surprise me. You know I hate surprises." She sounded anxious and her voice was full of emotion, or maybe it was sympathy.

"I was going to tell you once the house was done. We were still together then so I had no reason to rush things and I wanted you to graduate first. It doesn't matter anymore, Zoe. I'm ready to accept us not being together anymore." I meant that.

"I'm sorry," she apologised sincerely. "I'm sorry we had to end up like this. I miss you, I miss our friendship. I still want you in my life."

"I'm here, Zoe. I'm not going anywhere, not if you don't want me to. I love you, and I just want you to know that. I love you, Zoe. And I'm so happy for you," I smiled. "Eoin's a great guy. But if he slips up, I'll be there to catch you when you fall." There was her giggle again, her eyes sparkling in the light and her smile back on her face. Beautiful Zoe.