“Cash thinks I should take out a student loan.”
Ingrid’s eyes widen. “Really?”
“I’m considering it, but I don’t you to get your hopes up,” I warn.
“I want you to do something for you,” she says. “This could be a really great opportunity.”
“And you’d go with me?”
She licks her lips. “I already looked into online classes,” she confesses. “I think it’s doable. But I’d need to find a job right away.”
“I’m sure they have waxing parlors in New York,” I tease her.
“I’ll miss Pierre.”
“And Jill,” I add.
She nods. “It would be worth it for me. To see you chase a dream, it would be worth it.”
I run my thumb over the promise ring on her finger as she traces the letters of my Blondie tattoo.
“If it doesn’t work out, there might not be a room waiting for you when you get back,” I say.
Ingrid exhales. “I know. But maybe I’m ready to let the room go.”
“Yeah?”
“Isla won’t be returning to school,” she says. “This baby is all she has now.”
“You wouldn’t want to stay and help take care of the baby?”
She places a hand over her chest. “It’s not my job. I love my family, but I want an adventure that’s just ours.”
“Okay,” I say.
“Okay,” she repeats.
“I’ll call the admissions office when we get back home,” I tell her.
Ingrid gives me a breathtaking smile. “We’re really going to do this?”
I nod. “Really.”
She hugs me tight, and I wrap my arms around her, wondering if this—freedom, certainty, excitement—is what it feels like to chase dreams instead of run from fear.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Sad Goodbye
Ingrid
Wilder and I lean against the car door as Cash says goodbye to Britta. The sun is setting in the distance, and the warm California breeze wraps around us like an old friend.
Wilder’s fingers find mine, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“You think it’s love?” he asks me quietly.
I glance up at him as he motions to Cash and Britta.
