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stood there, looking like he always did, in a pair of worn jeans and a battered concert T-shirt. His dark brown hair was a little long, and one lock fell over his eyebrow, dusting above his brown eyes. He was tall, lean and muscled from years of working part-time at landscaping and construction jobs to help pay the bills. He looked like the kind of guy a girl could lean on and depend upon, but Jillian knew better. “I wanted to talk, Jillian.”
    She sighed. “We’ve been through this a thousand times. We don’t have anything to talk about.”
    “We have plenty to talk about. Starting with us.”
    “There is no us, Zach. You blew that when you refused to set a date and truly make a commitment. I was tired of waiting for you to…well, frankly, grow up.”
    He gave her that hapless look that usually won her over. “I know I screwed up, Jillian. But I want another chance. I want to prove to you that—”
    “Stop. Just stop.” She’d waited three months to hear those words. In the first few days after they’d broken up, she’d gone to bed each night, devastated that he hadn’t called, hadn’t texted. In the morning, the days would stretch long and empty and painful, while she waited on a man who wasn’t coming. And now, when she’d finally gotten herself together and gotten over him, he wanted to say those words? “It’s too late.”
    His face fell. The cocky confidence that used to draw her disappeared. “We dated for eight years. You’re just going to throw that away?”
    “I’m moving on. Moving forward. I’m not going backward. If I do…” She drew in a breath, surprised it hurt. “Anything with you again is a step backward, not forward.”
    He cocked his head and studied her. “You don’t believe I can change.”
    “People don’t change, Zach. They are who they are. And you and I are just not…good together. Not anymore.”
    “Jillian—”
    But she’d stopped listening to Zach. Ethan had pulled up, parking his silver rental car behind Zach’s Mustang. Ethan got out of the car, wearing dark blue trousers, a white button-down shirt and a dark green tie. He straightened the knot, then came up the walkway to her second-floor apartment. He looked like a grown-up, a man who was going places, rather than Zach, who looked like he’d just stumbled out of a homeless shelter or something.
    Zach turned, saw Ethan. He spun back toward Jillian. “Is that why you’re so dressed up? You have a date ?”
    “What I do with my life is no longer your concern, Zach.”
    “Wait, you’re already going out with someone else?”
    “We broke up three months ago. So, yes, I’m dating. Now, can you leave, please? I have plans.”
    But Zach stayed where he was, stubborn, his face flushed. Ethan flicked a quick glance at Zach, then smiled when he saw Jillian. “You look stunning,” he said.
    It felt very, very nice to be noticed. Zach had barely paid attention to her appearance. At least, he hadn’t paid attention until Ethan showed up. “Thank you,” she said to Ethan.
    “Are you…” Ethan looked again at Zach, then back at Jillian, “ready?”
    “Yes.” She started to pull the door shut and brush past Zach, when he turned toward Ethan.
    Zach thrust out a hand, like this was some kind of garden party, not some weird and awkward encounter. “I’m Zach. Her fiancé.”
    She wanted to throttle him. How dare he lay claim to her, as if they were still together? If he wanted to be her fiancé so badly, he should have stepped up over the summer. Not waited till fall to finally get a clue. “No, you’re not, Zach, and the sooner you stop thinking that, the better. Now, get off my doorstep. I’m leaving.”
    “JillyBean—”
    She ignored the nickname, slid past Zach and up to Ethan. “Let’s go.”
    Ethan took her hand as they headed down the walk toward his car. Ethan’s hand was smaller than Zach’s, his grip lighter. But he smiled when he looked over at her, and that made her stomach flutter.