Caleb pointed an accusing finger on Patrick's chest. "You moved back here to be near Nina. You've lived your whole life for a woman who doesn't live hers for you. You waited until she was skating over a weak spot, and then you made sure you were the first thing she could grab onto." Caleb turns away. "I don't have to hit you, Patrick. You're already pathetic."
Caleb walks toward the bathroom door but is stopped by Patrick's voice.
"Nina used to write me every other day. I was overseas, in the service (military), and that was the only thing I looked forward to." Patrick smiles faintly. "She told me when she met you. Told me where you took her on dates. But the time she told me that she'd climbed some mountain with you... that was when I knew I'd lost her."
"Mount Katahdin? Nothing happened that day."
"No. You just climbed it, and came down," Patrick says. "The thing is Nina's terrified of heights. She gets so sick sometimes, that she faints. But she loved you very much, she was willing to follow you anywhere. Even three thousand feet up."
Patrick pushes away from the wall, approaching Caleb. "You know what's pathetic? That you get to live with this... this goddess. That out of all the guys in the world she picked you. You were handed this incredible gift and you don't even know it's in front of you."
Then Patrick pushes past Caleb, knocking him against the wall. Patrick needs to get out of that bathroom, before he is foolish enough to reveal the whole of his heart.
-End of excerpt-
I particularly loved this excerpt when I read the book. You just feel like crying knowing how Patrick is being a true gentleman and letting go of the love of his life just to see her happy. sigh life is such a pain in the ass sometimes.
