Canceled my ex’s ticket.
I’m hit with the reminder that another woman was supposed to be here with him—a woman who not only looks like a model, but is one for a living.
Her seat was replaced by mine. She was his first choice, not me.
And I know that none of this is Owen’s fault. They broke up, and it was incredibly nice of him to ask me to come. But I still can’t help but compare myself to her.
Self-doubt creeps in as knots form in my stomach.
“Hey,” Owen says softly, snapping me back to the present.
I force out a smile as he reaches for my chin, but Owen sees right through my charade.
“What just happened?” He asks, his bright green eyes darting between mine. “Where did you go just now?”
“I just…” My voice cracks. “I know it’s stupid, but I don’t know why I get this sinking feeling like… we’re already drifting apart.”
His brows pinch together in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
I run a palm against my forehead, feeling silly for being so sensitive over something as minuscule as assigned seats.
“You’re… in the front of the plane,” I murmur. “And I’m in the back.”
“That’s what this is about?” He replies, his tone filled with so much care it breaks my heart. “Meadow, as soon as we take off, I’ll switch you seats. I had planned on doing that anyway. I’d rather you sit in the front than me.”
“It’s not the seat,” I shake my head. “It just feels symbolic in a weird way.”
I watch as Owen pushes back the table between us and slides his chair closer until our knees touch.
“Symbolic of what, Meadow?”
“I don’t know… Of all this ending,” I admit, letting my guard fall.
He studies me with his emerald eyes, making me feel intoxicated even though I’ve only had a few sips of my drink.
“You think a seating chart decides what happens to us?” he asks quietly.
“It’s just… Someone else was supposed to go on this trip with you.Shewas supposed to be here,” my voice comes out small, almost a whisper. “I wasn’t.”
His jaw flexes as he shakes his head like I’ve got it all wrong.
“I can’t change the past, Meadow,” he rasps. “But I canceled her ticket. And instead of coming alone, I wantedyouto be here with me. Even when she was still my girlfriend, I thought about how much I’d rather experience this with you. Before I even ended things,youwere the one I wanted, Meadow. Not her.”
…you were the one I wanted, Meadow. Not her.
God.
I want to believe him.
Ishouldbelieve him.
Owen’s not a liar, and he’s certainly never given me a reason to doubt him. But the devil on my shoulder still tries to convince me that I could never be enough for him.
I draw in a choppy breath as panic coils inside me.
“I just—I can’t help but feel like the universe is messing with us,” I blurt out. “Like it’s some sort of foreshadowing. What if the vacation high fades away the second we land? What if having opposite seats is the first sign of things falling apart?”
