"Yes, of course." That did make sense, Ryland supposed. Probably if Pete had shown no interest in Ryland's feelings at all, they would be dealing with a very different spell. Ryland wasn't sure if that one would be more or less painful.
He stared directly down at the crocodile tears he was measuring into a small glass bowl, ready to be dumped into Gabe's cauldron. Anything to keep from looking at Gabe. "He said, ah, that he was very sorry to have hurt my feelings, and that he cared about me very much. But that he felt like he would perish if he didn't make things work romantically with, erm. You."
This was, of course, delivered in the most unaffected tone that Ryland could possibly muster.