Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
“It happens to the best of us,” he says as I wipe my hand on a paper towel, then move to the sink. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Apparently. I lie down for a minute, and it’s three hours later.” I finish washing my hands. “I used your landline to make a couple of calls. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course.”
We stand close enough to touch if our weight shifts just enough. My skin tingles at the proximity. I tell myself it’s because I need comfort and not because of anything else—surely not because I’m still attracted to Luke.
His half smile, like he can read my mind, gets me every time.
I turn off the tap. “My friend Stephanie and agent, Anjelica, seem to have taken care of everything.”
“That’s good.” He stretches his legs out in front of him. “You haven’t talked to Tom?”
“No. That’s a big no.”
He nods, following me with his eyes as I take a dish towel from the drawer.
“I’ll probably never talk to Tom again,” I say, drying my hands.
“Is that weird?”
I shrug. “I suppose it’s weird if you’re on the outside. You probably think it’s odd that I could’ve been marrying a man this morning, yet I’ll never talk to him again now.” I hold the towel in my hands and look at Luke. “But it’s really a relief.”
So many words are on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t have the guts to say them. It’s for the best that I don’t anyway. He’ll think I’m just overly emotional—and maybe I am. And I’ll regret saying them when I return to my life, and he never talks to me again—which he won’t.
The best way to predict the future is to look at the past. While our storied history is the sweetest part of my life, it’s the end I must use when looking into a crystal ball.
Even though as I stand in his kitchen and peer into those bright green eyes, feeling the connection between us reverberate in the air, it’s hard to remember why it didn’t work out.
“I owe you an explanation,” I say, realizing I’ve never given him a reason for being here.
“You really don’t.”
“No, but I do.” I move across the room to put some distance between us. Only when we’re more than a few feet apart can I breathe again. “And I want you to know that it was really brazen of me to use the key to get in your house.” I return his grin. “And it was even kinder of you to have been as sweet to me as you have.”
“Let me ask you this,” he says, smirking. “What would you have done if you had broken in here and my wife was in my bed?”
“I would have questions.”
“Such as?”
My grin grows. “I would’ve asked you why you never showed pictures of your wife on social media.”
His loud laughter fills the room.
“I mean, I get that you use your page for work, but you could still show her every now and then,” I say, laughing too. “I’m always suspicious if a man is married and his girl doesn’t show up anywhere with him online.”
“Oh,” he says, his eyes alight with humor. “I see. You’ve been checking me out.”
“Hardly.”
He hums.
“Stephanie happened to see one of your viral videos,” I say, rolling my eyes playfully. “And she showed me, and I may or may not have gotten curious.”
“You’re a fangirl.”
It’s my turn to burst out laughing. “I am hardly a fangirl, Luke. But thanks.”
“You are. That is so cool.”
“Stop it.”
“Why? You don’t think I’m not online watching what you’re up to?”
He turns away before I can see his face.
“You’re checking on me?” I ask.
“I just wonder what you’re up to sometimes.” His voice drops a few octaves. “You’re really impressive. But I’m sure you know that.”
My heart swells so big that I’m afraid it will burst.
After I was supposed to come home the last time and couldn’t, he didn’t answer my calls. Worse, he didn’t return them, either. I’ve always hoped that maybe it was too hard for him like it was for me. A clean break was easier than peeling the bandage off slowly. I’ve looked into endless arenas and at thousands of crowds—read countless comments on posts and wondered if any of them were him.
I’ve wondered whether Luke thought about me. To have the answer, to know that he has, brings tears to my eyes because what I’ve really feared all these years is that he hated me. Did he hate me for leaving? Did he hate me for not coming back? Even though he told me he knew I had to go try to achieve my dreams, did he really mean it?
Knowing that Luke was always in my corner, rooting for me if only silently, heals a wound I’ve carried with me since the day I left Peachwood Falls.