Page 46 of Tequila Lime and Sunshine

When I’m ready to leave, I walk to Hawke’s side of the bed and gently shake him awake. There’s no way I could leave without telling him goodbye.

“Hawke, I’ve got to go.” His eyes blink open, and my heart skips a beat.

“Don’t go, Sunshine.” His voice is raspy from sleep.

“I have to. I have an early flight.”

He pouts and then curls his hand around my neck, pulling me down to him. Our foreheads meet, and we stay like that for a minute before he leans forward and kisses me. It’s a gentle kiss. A loving kiss. A goodbye kiss.

I wish it could be more, but it’s not a good idea. Not until I get my head straight and figure out if I’m willing to take the risk with him.

“Wait, I’ve got something for you.” He reaches into the bedside table drawer, pulls out a box, and hands it to me. “I saw this in one of the markets, and it reminded me of you. I want you to have it.”

I open the box and see a gorgeous gold necklace with a small sun pendant peppered with colorful little gemstones. You can tell that it’s handmade and someone spent a lot of time on it.

“Hawke, it’s beautiful.”

He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Just a little something to remember me by.”

I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.

I hug the box to my chest. “Thank you, Hawke. I love it.”

He gives me a sleepy smile that makes me want to crawl back in bed with him.“Have a safe flight, Sunshine. Text me when you land.”

“I will.” I trail my thumb down his cheek to his lips. I’m going to miss these lips. He kisses my thumb. Before I can do anything stupid like actually jump back in bed with him, I stand, grab my bags, and head to the front desk to check on my car.

While I’m waiting, I hear someone call my name. I see Holden walking toward me with two cups of coffee.

“Hey. What are you doing up so early?” I ask, not able to think of anything better to say.

“Carly is doing last-minute packing and wanted some coffee.” He holds up the cups.

“Ah. Right.” I feel beyond awkward right now. He literally saw me riding his brother yesterday. I feel like I should apologize, but I don’t really want to. I’m not sorry for what I did with Hawke. Maybe I should be. But we’re both adults and made a conscious decision. I won’t bring myself to regret that.

“So, I owe you an apology,” he starts. Ok, not at all where I thought this was going. “I shouldn’t have barged into your room yesterday. I had a feeling something was going on with you two, and I guess I just wanted my suspicions confirmed.”

“Oh.” It’s the only word my brain can think of right now.

“I acted like a child, and I’m sorry about that. But Summer. Honestly, Hawke? He’s my brother.” The hurt in his eyes is clear, which I wanted to avoid in this whole situation.

I sigh. “I know. I promise you, I did not plan for anything like this to happen with him. But he was my friend too when we were younger. And now, something about him just feels right.”

Holden focuses on the ground for a moment before looking back at me. “It’s just. . . you were mine.”

I give him a sad smile. “Yeah, I was. Holden, I was in it all the way with you. I thought we’d get married and have kids and grow old together. But when I told you what I wanted to do with my life and you basically laughed at and dismissed me, I knew we would never have that together. We’d end up resenting each other.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I’m happy you’ve found someone who wants what you want. Carly really is great, and she seems to make you happy.”

“She does,” he confirms.

“I’m still trying to find my person. But when I do decide, I hope you’ll be happy for me too.”

“Of course I will.”

I tilt my head to the side to study him. “Even if it’s your brother?”