Despite herself, Florence laughed. It was small and under her breath and no one but him would likely hear it, but it was genuine just the same. "You think I don't know?" she asked a moment later, glancing up at him before tearing her eyes away. "You think I don't wish the last year of my life had gone differently?" Because she did. Every day. Oh, she cared for Anatoly. Perhaps not in the foolish, headstrong way she'd loved Freddie, but she did love him. That didn't mean she didn't know how wrong it had all been. She wished they could do everything over. From before Merano, even. Maybe if she'd just been honest with Freddie all along about how tired she was of it all, maybe things might have been different. And maybe they'd have fallen out before they ever made the trip to Italy. He might have chosen a different second, she might have stayed in London, and she never would've been involved in the struggle between he and Anatoly to begin with. It was mind-blowing to think about, but she did. And often.
Shaking her head, she absently traced the mermaid logo on the coffee cup. What sort of coffee place had a mermaid for a logo anyway? "I appreciate it, Freddie. All of this." He might think her a bitch and maybe in some ways she was. But she was human, too, and could show gratitude when she felt it. As angry as he was, as badly as she'd hurt him, he hadn't left her to flounder in this strange world she'd ended up in. "And I'm glad you've grown. You can tell."
In some ways, it was a little sad. It meant he wasn't her Freddie any longer. But then, that was the man who'd pushed her to her limits one time too many. That was the Freddie who had caused her to yell not-so-empty promises about leaving him after the tournament. This one? This one was better. People didn't hate him here, as they had back in their world, their time. He seemed to have made genuine friends, including one so out of his league that it made her smile just to consider it. Oh, she didn't think for one second that he was going to hug her and pretend nothing bad had happened between them. And to be honest, she didn't want him to. They both had been hurt, and it had changed them.
Who knew? Maybe this place wouldn't be bad for her, either. Or it could kill her. Minor details.
Biting her lower lip, Florence sighed. "I am sorry, Freddie. For the way everything happened. I'm not saying we were perfect before, because even you have to admit, we weren't. But... But it shouldn't have happened like all of that."