“My flight is in three hours,” she said. “I still have to pack my suitcase and get to the airport.”
My heart constricted. Despite my best attempts all night long, she wouldn’t share more than surface-level details. Skip once told me I could charm Sasquatch into buying a winter coat, but she didn’t crack at all.
“Where’s that flight to again?” I asked, carefully not looking at her.
She tsked. “Nice try.”
“Not even a last name?” Panic made my voice shaky. Fear gripped me like a jumper three sizes too small. This couldn’t be the end. I leaned forward and grabbed her hands. “We can’t end like this. Tell me we’ll see each other again.”
Her face shuttered, emotion slipping into a cool mask.
“You don’t know me.” Her head shook solemnly. “The truth is, I’m never so open. I never … I’m not normally like this,” she finished.
“We cannot let this be the last time we talk to each other.”
“We’re from different worlds,” she said sadly.
This was more than just dancing and kissing. This felt like the most important thing. I couldn’t let her go without hope. There had to be more for us.
We walked in silence back to the front of her hotel.
“Thank you for a wonderful night, Sanders. I’ll never forget it.”
When I looked up at her, my sadness must have shown clear. She reached out and brushed a thumb over my cheek.
“I’m not ready for it to end,” I said.
“It’s not meant to be,” she said firmly but her voice shook.
I stood up straighter. My heart started to race with hope.
“My dad told me he knew the moment he met my mom she was the one. He was in Australia for a work trip and happened to pass her on the street. He literally stopped her just to talk to her.” Her eyes widened slightly at my words. “At first she told him it wasn’t meant to be. He always insisted luck brought them together because they happened to be at that exact place at that moment.”
“You make your luck in life,” she said.
“That’s what she told him!” I hadn’t meant to shout it but I was too excited to keep this locked down. How couldn’t she see that this connection was so real? I calmed my voice. “And so he stayed. Left his entire life for her. He showed up at her house every day for a month to help her dad on his farm. She called him ‘Farmer Charmer.’”
My voice tightened talking about my parents. They weren’t a topic I ever brought up, but if I didn’t try everything, I would regret it.
“That’s very sweet. They sound lovely. They really do.” She smiled softly.
“He never gave up and eventually they got married. Theyweremeant to be.”
“But life isn’t destiny or magic.” As she spoke, she looked just past my shoulder, thinking about something that waited for her back home. “Life is about showing up and working hard.”
I grabbed her hands and squeezed them. “You feel this.” It wasn’t a question.
She let out a soft sigh before she met my eyes. “I feel a connection too. But look, our lives are totally different. We live worlds apart,” she said.
“I can’t believe our paths would cross like this only for this to be it.” I brought her closer to me. Her gaze flicked over my face and she dropped her head to my shoulder.
“I’m not one for blind leaps of faith. There’s a lot about me you don’t know.” Her voice was muffled and her body trembled against me.
I wrapped my arms tight around her. That tiny sign of emotion gave me hope that this was her fear talking. That she wanted more.
“Roxy,” I said. “Can’t we at least try?”
She straightened off me abruptly and stepped back. “I’m sorry.”
