She swallowed, throat clicking.
It also meant losing the team of friends, these women who’d become like sisters.The joy she found in the park, in the red rocks and vast sky.
It meant leaving Noah.
The other two exchanged a look—one of those silent conversations women had.Then both offered her a forced smile, the kind that didn’t reach their eyes.
Nimue laid down her next card.“Wow.Pennsylvania.That’s huge.What does Noah think of it?”
Meg hesitated, her fingers tracing the edge of a card.“We haven’t talked about it.”
The two exchanged another look, more pointed this time, Nimue’s golden-brown eyes widening.
“Like you haven’t talked about what it means, or he doesn’t even know you interviewed?”
The tone implied that she was betraying him.But he was the one who put up the Great Wall of China between them, brick by brick.
She drew a card from the deck and discarded another.“It hasn’t come up.”
“You need to talk to him.”Eden took her turn but locked eyes with Meg.“I mean, you two have been dancing around each other for two years.I thought you were destined for each other.”
Yeah, her too.
“Maybe you need to just walk up to him and kiss him and wake him up.”Nimue’s low laughter filled the room, warm and teasing.“Liam’s kiss woke me up.”
“If the kiss we shared in the canyon didn’t do it, I’m not sure more will help.”Meg’s frustration bled into her words as she slammed her next card on the discard pile with more force than necessary.“But after, he made it clear that it wasn’t—no, couldn’t—happen.So it doesn’t matter.”
Both of her friends seemed frozen in time, cards suspended in midair.Wide eyes taking in Meg’s words.
Finally Eden blinked at her.“You kissed?Like a quick kiss or?—”
“Or a full kiss that you feel through your body, that curls your toes and leaves you thinking of nothing else for days.Yup.That.It did, in fact, not wake him up.”Meg drew another card, not looking at either of them.“What about you and Teague, Eden?You’re not exactly subtle with those looks you give him.”
Eden laughed, the sound a bit too bright.She spun a pen on the table, the plastic clicking softly against wood.“Teague?He’s a walking ego with a nice smile.I’m not losing sleep over him.”She paused, twirling the pen between her fingers, her grin fading.“So are you going to Pennsylvania because you’re running toward the job or because you’re running away from how you feel about Noah?”
Meg’s gaze dropped to her cards, the numbers and suits blurring.The storm’s roar drowned her thoughts, thunder rumbling through the building’s frame.
Why did people keep saying that?
Leaving was logical.If she was running from anything, it would be from moments like she’d had in the cave—the panic, the helplessness.Only no one but Noah knew about that.
Was getting away from Noah a bonus?
She gripped the table’s edge, knuckles whitening.“It’s time.I can’t keep doing this.Maybe part of me is tired of waiting for him to wake up.But I’m also tired of waiting for the next disaster.The next call.I’m moving to Pennsylvania in two weeks.End of story.”
“You’re what?”Noah’s voice cut through the room.Low.Rough.Like gravel.
Meg spun in her chair, cards scattering.Her heart lurched, dropping into her stomach.
Noah stood in the doorway.He looked healthier now.His color had returned—no longer that gray pallor.His posture was steady, though he still wore the gray sweats he’d slept in.His hair was tousled but dry, sticking up in places.His eyes were clear, bright, and focused.
His eyes locked on hers.Raw with hurt and shock.His hand gripped the doorframe.
Her throat tightened.But she held his gaze, refusing to look away.“I’m taking a research job in Pennsylvania.It starts in two weeks.”
The air crackled with tension.Eden and Nimue exchanged glances—wide-eyed, uncomfortable.Then stood with awkward scraping of chairs and made their way out to the kitchenette, shoes soft on the carpet.
Noah’s jaw tightened, the muscle jumping beneath skin, his silence louder than the thunder rolling outside.His clear eyes burned into hers.“You can’t leave in two weeks.You committed through August.The park needs you.”
