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That shouldn’t have hurt, but it did. For the first time ever, he wished it were true. That he was married to the woman who had stolen his heart, which was ridiculous. She was leaving, and he was staying, and it was over. “Definitely,” Eric managed to say, his voice choked.
The man pushed the furniture out of the apartment, whistling.
Eric wanted to punch him.
“You need to go, Eric,” Shelby said from somewhere behind him.
As he turned around, he saw her. She stared at him, hands at her sides, body tense, eyes shielded from him. Her guard was up, and he knew why. “Are you leaving today, or tomorrow?”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “As soon as everything’s in the truck, I’ll be gone.”
He didn’t say anything.
Just stared.
She shifted on her feet.
Eric cleared his throat. “I promised you that when you left, I’d be there to wave you off. I intend to keep that promise.”
“No, thank you.” She lifted her chin. “Not all promises are meant to be kept.”
“This one is.” He took a step toward her. She stiffened. He stopped immediately. “I hope you find everything you’ve been looking for. You deserve it.”
She glanced away for a second, and when she turned back, her eyes were cold but there was something else there. Something that echoed the pain he felt in his chest. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Despite everything, please know I care about you.” He walked right up to her, stopping just short of touching her. “Please know I am here for you, if you ever need anything from Atlanta.”
She dug her nails into the palms of her hands. “I won’t need anything from you.”
“Still. The offer stands.” He bent down and pressed his lips to her temple, breathing in the floral scent of her perfume one last time. “Good-bye, Shel.”
Her breath hitched in her throat. He heard it.
“Good-bye, Eric,” she whispered.
It took all his control to walk away. He put one foot in front of the other, each step a little bit harder than the last. He walked toward the elevator and kept on going, not looking back.
If he looked back…
He might not let her go.
As he came outside of the building, he took a deep breath, watching as the mover came up to the door with his cart empty. He had a few other guys with him now, and the truck looked to be about three-quarters of the way full. He stared at the contents of the truck, everything that Shelby owned just sitting there, waiting to be taken away.
She was leaving.
He was never going to see her again.
What the hell was he supposed to do with that?
“Eric?” Wyatt asked from behind him.
He turned around. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to check on you.” He wore a jacket with the collar turned up, a pair of dark blue jeans with a button-up shirt, and his blond hair was spiked to perfection. Not even the wind dared to move it. “Last time we were together, you weren’t doing so great.”
“I’m fine,” he said on autopilot.
“Yeah. Sure you are.” He tipped his head toward the truck. “That hers?”
