But we’d made an agreement. She had a life in Blue Point Bay. I had a life here. This had always had an expiration date.
I didn’t get to change the rules just because I was starting to want more.
“Okay,” I said finally. “We’ll be more careful.”
“Thank you.” She sounded relieved. “I’ll see you at the band auditions tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Okay. And Dex?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. For making this complicated.”
“You’re not making it complicated. It just is.”
“Right. Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, and we can figure out how we’re going to tell them and when.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I hung up and sat in my truck, staring at the phone.
This was getting messy. Complicated. Exactly what we’d said it wouldn’t be.
And I had no idea how to fix it.
Or if I even wanted to.
Because despite the complications, despite the secrets and the fear and the knowledge that this was all going to end in a few weeks, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
Not when being with Leigh felt like the first time I’d been fully alive in years.
Chapter 18
LEIGH
Iwas lying in bed going over my schedule for tomorrow. We still had band auditions at two, then I needed to edit the engagement photos Trace and Delaney had approved, maybe dinner with Mom and Jasper if they were free. Then something tapped against my window.
I froze, my phone still in my hand.
Another tap. Deliberate. Intentional.
My heart jumped as I scrambled out of bed and crossed to the window. When I pulled back the curtain, Dex was standing on the lawn below, grinning up at me like an idiot. He made an exaggerated climbing motion, pointing at the trellis that ran up the side of the house.
I cracked open the window. “What are you doing?” I hissed, trying not to laugh.
“Sneaking you out.” He kept his voice low but I could hear the smile in it. “Come on, climb down.”
“I’m twenty-seven years old. I can use the front door.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He crossed his arms, still grinning. “Come on, Rapunzel. Live a little.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You love it.”
I did. God help me, I absolutely did.
