A soft breeze blew off the water, sending a lock of Moira’s dark hair dancing over her cheek. Gil had to suppress his desire to swipe the hair away for her. He cleared his throat. “About that night…We never really talked about it,” Gil said. His brain was already screaming at him to back away from the subject. Moira was in his boat. She was actually having a civil conversation with him right now. Don’t ruin it, Gil. “I’m sorry.”
Moira looked up at him with wide eyes. “What exactly are you apologizing for?” There was something fragile in her tone of voice, but he wasn’t sure why.
He shrugged. “I ruined your date. You were having a good time with Felix, and I came over and insisted on taking you home.” He realized later that he’d probably embarrassed her. That hadn’t been his intention. “And I’m sorry for calling the police on you when you trashed my apartment the next night.” He shook his head. “Granted, I didn’t know it was you. If I had, I would never have called them. I probably deserved to have my place trashed. It was rude of me to interrupt your date.”
Moira stared at him expectantly. It suddenly felt like she was waiting for him to apologize for something else. “Yes, you were roommates, but I didn’t intend to ransack your stuff, Gil. I was targeting Felix. I just didn’t know which stuff was his and which was yours,” she finally said. “What I did, when I broke into your apartment, wasn’t against you.”
Gil felt like there was something he was missing. He would wonder if Felix had made unwanted advances on Moira if it weren’t for the fact that Gil was the one who’d driven her home. Felix had never gotten a chance to even try for a good night kiss. “Why? What happened?”
Moira dropped her gaze to her feet and shook her head. “Nothing.” She looked back up at him, her gaze searching his. “Thanks to you.”
Gil let that sink in. For so long, he’d thought she was upset with him for ruining her date—so upset she’d broken into his apartment the next day and trashed it. And then she’d been upset with him for getting her arrested. “How much did you have to drink that night?” he thought to ask. She’d been so intoxicated when he’d walked up to their table that she could barely sit up in her chair.
“Less than one,” Moira answered.
Gil shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. How could one drink…?” His throat suddenly felt dry as he tried to swallow. “He—he drugged you?”
Moira looked down at her hands, fidgeting lightly in her lap. “I can’t prove it. The drugs were out of my system by the time I went to a doctor the next day. The police department wouldn’t even make a report. It was my word against Felix’s.” She looked back up and met Gil’s gaze. “I was mortified and embarrassed, but mostly just really angry about what he’d planned to do to me.” Her eyes grew shiny, and she looked away.
“So you went to our apartment and trashed it.” Gil nodded, understanding the situation now.
She nibbled on her lower lip. “Sorry. I know it was immature and foolish.”
“It’s understandable.” Gil felt sick to his stomach. How could he not have seen this before? He guessed it was because he hadn’t wanted to see it. He’d never known Felix to be anything other than a good guy. “Moira, I didn’t know. If I had, I would have…” He shook his head, searching for the right words. How could he not have realized the situation? He’d never seen Moira drunk before, and on that night, she’d been barely able to put a sentence together. It was her first date with Felix. He had thought that maybe she’d been nervous, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d had to drink to relax. “I’m so sorry, Moira.”
She shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize, Gil. You have nothing to be sorry for. I just kind of always assumed you knew.”
“And that I approved of what Felix did? What he wanted to do?” Anger took root in the pit of Gil’s stomach as he thought about it. Not at Moira, of course. “I haven’t seen Felix in at least ten years, but I’d really like to meet him in a dark alley right now.”
Moira looked at him. “Then we’d both get thrown in jail.”
Gil held her gaze for a moment, wishing there was something he could do to right this wrong. Felix had drugged Moira and gotten away with it. “It’d be worth it.”
Moira broke eye contact, turning her attention to their surroundings. “Anyway, thanks for taking me home that night.”
Gil wanted to tell her that thanking him wasn’t necessary, but instead he just nodded.
“And thank you for saying you’ll help my mom keep her bakery on Hannigan Street.”
Gil cleared his throat. He really needed to explain to Moira that there wasn’t much he could do at this point. He thought she’d understood that. “I can’t make any promises.”
“I know. But I also know you’ll do what’s right.” She turned to look at the sky again, and Gil heard her quick intake of breath. “Oh, wow.”
He’d seen a million sunsets, so he watched her face instead. The awe in her eyes was worth a million sunsets on Somerset Lake. “Does it meet your expectations?” he asked.
“It surpasses them. I wish I could sit out here every night and see this.”
“You can. My boat is always open to you.”
She gave him a strange look.
“What?” he finally asked.
She shrugged and shook her head simultaneously. “It’s just, you’re so nice, even when I haven’t been the nicest to you.”
“Girls never like nice guys,” he said with a soft groan.
Moira’s grin was slow in coming. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Mr. Mayor. You were named Most Eligible Bachelor last year, after all. If my memory serves me correctly, you had a lot of women interested in dating you.”
Gil chuckled. “And yet I’m still single.”
Her gaze lingered on his. There was a look he couldn’t pinpoint in her eyes. “You just haven’t found the right one yet.”
He held his tongue. He thought maybe he had found her, but his ex-roommate had ruined his chances a long time ago. Whether Moira admitted to holding what Felix did against Gil or not, there was a wall there that he had given up on breaking through. He just hoped one day she was able to find a guy who treated her the way she deserved. “What about you? Why are you still single?” He wondered if one bad date with Felix had ruined her desire to go on more dates. He wouldn’t blame her if that were the case. It would be hard to trust someone after such an experience.
She looked away, dropping her head for a moment before turning to look out onto the water. “People around here act like being single is a bad thing. It’s not. I like my independence. I’m happy.”
“I’m sure you are.”
She looked at him again as if trying to gauge if he was being sincere or sarcastic.
“And, if and when you meet the right one, maybe you’ll be even happier,” Gil said quietly. “Who knows?”
“Maybe. But maybe love isn’t out there for everyone.”
“I don’t know. I think it’s out there for everyone who wants to find it.” He cleared his throat. “At least I hope it is.”