“How did they react?”
“Better than I expected. Lawrence said he was sorry I was leaving, but he agreed it was the right decision, and the door would always be open if I decided to return. I also canceled my spring class and took my name off the available speaker list. I start at the health department on Monday.” He grinned. “Mom doesn’t know yet. I figured I’d tell her at brunch on Sunday. That seems to be the preferred time to drop bombshells on her.”
As Kingston talked, Olivia could see how relaxed he was. “I’m so happy you’ve found your niche. What’s the other thing?”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, swiped the screen a couple of times, and then showed it to her.
She glanced at it and hid her frown. So nothing had changed. Disappointment filled her. Next week he was going back to work with a full schedule—and there was no room for her, or their friendship. Every single square was filled, even though he’d just said he was cutting back on his work and activities. Was this his way of telling her goodbye?
“Looks like you’ll be busy,” she said, trying to stem her confusion.
He glanced at the screen. “Oops. That’s not the rightone. That was my old schedule. I need to get rid of that.” He ran his thumb over the screen. “Here’s my new one.”
She took the phone again. Her eyes widened. Her name was written all over the month of October, along with activities. There was “Movie at Sunset,” “Walk through Garvin Gardens,” and “Teach Olivia how to golf,” among others. On each Saturday night the words “Olivia’s choice” appeared. “What is this?”
“Our calendar.”
The tingles returned. “‘Our’?”
He turned in his seat and faced her. “I missed you, Olivia. Every day I was in Fiji, I wished you were there with me. I know we agreed to be friends, and if friendship is all we have, then I’ll accept it. But I want to show you how committed I am to spending time with you. No excuses, no ghosting, no conflicting obligations.”
Olivia stilled. He’d just made the closest thing to a commitment other than actually showing up for the planned events. But would he follow through? Could she trust him a third time?
Is he worth the risk?
She took the phone from him and started swiping on the screen.
He leaned over. “What are you doing?” When she handed the phone back to him, he glanced at the screen, his brow lifting. “You erased ‘Olivia’s choice.’”
She nodded. “We’ll wing it on Saturdays.” And to show him her commitment to spontaneity, she leaned over and kissed him. When they parted, she murmured, “Yeah. Totally worth it.”
“What?”
“Never mind,” she said with a smile.
He gazed at her. “That wasn’t a friendly kiss.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be.” She held her breath, waiting to see how he would respond.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
This time he kissed her, just as the lights dimmed in the theater andThe Quiet Manstarted rolling. “The movie’s beginning,” he said in a low voice.
“I already know how it ends.”
Happily ever after.
Epilogue
One year later
Olivia stood in front of the mirror and touched the string of pearls around her neck. The beautiful necklace had belonged to her mother, who had given it to her last night before her and Kingston’s wedding earlier that day. Mom had worn the pearls when she married Dad, and Olivia was touched by the special gift.
Just remembering the unexpected emotion in Mom’s eyes made Olivia emotional. Again. She teared up when she and her bridesmaids Harper, Riley, and Anita were getting ready for the ceremony. Harper’s daughter, Claire, and Anita’s son, Wyatt, had been sitting with their proud grandparents. She cried when she saw Kingston standing at the end of the aisle. She swallowed her tears as she told her friends and Aunt Bea goodbye before leaving with him on their simple honeymoon to Gatlinburg—he’d taken a 75 percent pay cut when he went to the health department and had zero regrets—andnow that they were in their hotel, she was getting emotional again.
Soft music suddenly drifted into the room, and in the mirror she saw Kingston walking up behind her. Quickly she wiped the corner of her eye. He slipped his arms around her waist, his black wedding band shining in the low light. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just an emotional day, in a good way. Where’s the music coming from?”
