“So,” he says, as we stand on the sidewalk with people streaming past us from both sides.
“So.”
He looks down and shuffles from side to side before he clears his throat.
“Listen, Honey. I know you’ve got a lot to figure out. And I know I’m not...” He stops, swallows. “I know I’m not who you want.”
“Chris—” I knew this would come up, and I feel terrible that I ever let us get into this position in the first place.
“Let me finish.” His eyes are closed as he holds up a hand. I purse my lips shut, waiting for him to continue. “I’m not saying this to make you feel bad. I just want you to know that I get it. I’ve always gotten it, even when I didn’t want to.” He manages a small smile. “But if you’re ever in New York—for any reason—give me a call. I’ll buy you a beer, and we can pretend we’re justtwo normal people who went to college together. We can just pretend that kiss never happened.”
My chest tightens, and I take his hand. “I don’t regret kissing you,” I say, my body shaking with the admission. “You’re a good man, Chris. You were kind to me when everyone else was cruel, and you’ve always made me feel safe and seen.”
His expression softens, but I keep going before I lose my nerve.
“If things were different, I think maybe something could’ve happened.”
“If Zach wasn’t—”
“And if Bailey wasn’t either.”
Chris huffs out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “Bailey’s not a problem, but I get it.”
I smile at him—a real smile, maybe the first real one I’ve given him in months. “Friends?”
He considers for a moment, then nods. “Friends, but like, could we be the kind of friends who get married if we’re forty and still single?”
I bark out a laugh and push him lightly. “Oh, please. If Bailey doesn’t come back to find you then I’m pretty sure you’re going to have a line of girls waiting for you after you make your NHL debut. You’re hot stuff, Chris Harper.”
He chuckles before pulling me into a hug, and I let myself lean into it for just a second. Chris Harper. The nice guy. The safe choice. The one who would have been easy to be with.
Too bad I’ve never liked easy.
“Go find yourself, Honey Sanderson,” he says against my hair. “And when you do, don’t be a stranger.”
“I won’t.”
He pulls back, gives me one last smile, and then he’s walking toward the terminal, duffel bag over his shoulder, disappearing into the crowd.
I stand there for a moment, watching him go. Then I grab my suitcase and head inside.
Two weeks on a cruise. Just me and the ocean and way too much time to think about things I’ve been running from.
Maybe Olivia and Chris are right. Maybe space to figure out who I am without anyone else’s expectations weighing me down is exactly what I need. Without my family’s legacy. Without Zach’s certainty that we belong together. Without Chris’s hopeful glances or Madison’s knowing smirks or any of it.
Just me.
The thought is terrifying, but also, maybe, a little bit exciting.
I’m halfway through security when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, half-expecting a text from Olivia already.
Zach:You left without saying goodbye.
My heart stops.
I stare at the message, my thumb hovering over the screen. He must have seen me. Or someone told him I was gone. Or—
Another message appears.
