He pulled away to cup my face before brushing his lips to mine. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
That familiar burn of tears roared at the back of my eyelids. One escaped before I could stop it.
Oliver’s eyebrows pinched together as he brushed my cheek with his thumb. “No crying on my watch. This is amazing news.”
I let out a shaky breath. “I’m happy.” I sounded like I was trying to convince myself.
“You look it,” Oliver said with mock seriousness.
“Shut up.” I tried to pull away, but his gentle grasp held me in place.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked.
I sucked in a breath through my nose, trying to sort through my thoughts like I was rifling through a jumbled file cabinet. “I’m happy I got it,” I repeated. “I’m-I’m excited about the fresh start in New York.”
“Then why the tears?” he asked.
“I guess I’m just mourning this.” I waved my hand between the two of us. “This tiny little taste of whatever this was. Dinners with you at Marie’s. You trying to drag me on some outdoorsy adventure I’m bound to be terrible at. Learning something new together—we haven’t even conquered cooking yet.”
“The last dish was almost edible,” he said.
That made me laugh through my tears. “Being close to my sister too,” I continued. “Having coffee with her every morning and seeing her whenever I want. It’s stupid, but I never realized how incredible all the little things could be.”
Oliver wiped away another tear. “That isn’t stupid at all. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed experiencing all those things with youtoo. And hey, we still have another week of it. Don’t go saying your goodbyes to me already.”
I sniffed and leaned into his hand, letting him tangle his fingers in my wild, bedhead-riddled hair. “I know. It’s just bittersweet.” Even as I said the words, all I tasted was the bitterness.
Oliver offered me a lazy grin. “Why waste energy on feeling the weight of an ending when we should be celebrating what a ride it was?”
That was such an Oliver answer. I forced myself to nod in agreement, but the casual way he delivered those words stung a little.
This was all expected. Me getting a job. Him heading off to another adventure. Everything was right with the world. Yet I found my own personal universe thrown completely out of orbit.
Logically, I knew that Oliver was never going to make some grand gesture, like begging me to come with him. And logically, I knew I’d have no business exploring a life like that. However, the irrational, subconscious parts of me that I’d been working overtime to quell desperately wanted Oliver to make a move. Saysomething. Say that he couldn’t imagine letting me go. Or say that he didn’t have the answers, but we’d figure it out together. I secretly wanted him to tell me that losing me wasn’t an option.
Finally, I said, “Who knows? Maybe you could swing by New York sometime. I could show you around.”
Oliver’s face fell, and my stomach dipped when I saw the pained expression twisting his features.
“Probably best to remember this as it is now. The perfect, fleeting moment in time.”
I bit down hard on my lip and forced my gaze not to drop. Something like embarrassment ate away at my gut. Here Iwas, fantasizing about him not letting me go. Meanwhile, he was all too fine with never seeing me again. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been up front about who he was. He wasn’t a long-term type of guy.
It didn’t matter if I had fallen for him. This was ending in the way it was always supposed to. I couldn’t wish for a rule change this late in the game.
Oliver’s eyes scanned mine. “Frankie…” But his words trailed off to nothing as his eyes jerked to the doorway. I turned.
An older woman with dark hair pulled back into a braid entered the room. Her features were dark and her eyes all too familiar.
“Mom?” Oliver questioned.
I sprang from his bed and took a step back.
“Are you alright? The doctors wouldn’t tell me anything.” Her voice shook as she walked into the room.
Oliver sprang up from where he sat perched on the hospital bed, the thing in his arm monitoring something pulling taut as a result. “What are you doing here?” he demanded, clearly in shock.
I winced, feeling guilty. This was definitely my fault.
