Page 52 of Never Let Go

I nodded, an understanding smile spreading on my lips. “I know. Our last meeting was the last one we needed to have before we could arrange for the deposit to be made, but unfortunately, there are still t’s to be crossed and i’s to be dotted. The law is never simple.”

“But it is the law.” A moment passed between us before his gaze dropped back to the paperwork and he scanned it over before signing it. I felt a strange sense of sadness sinking in at the realization that we were both moving on.

“What exactly do you do now?” I asked, realizing I didn’t even know what he did for a living. “Are you some big-shot businessman?”

He glanced up at me with a playful smile on his face. “I work at a dating agency, if you’d believe it. Funny, since I never even asked you out, huh?”

Surprise trickled through me. “Am I allowed to know which agency?”

He waggled his eyebrows and shook his head. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you. How about you? Do you enjoy working here?”

“I do.” I grinned at him and then tried to drag the name of the agency out of him, but he stubbornly refused to tell me. Eventually, I let it go. I supposed it didn’t matter. Even if he worked for Sight Unseen, which would’ve been way too much of a coincidence, I was using a fake name there and the last thing I wanted was for him to find out I had met the guy I was seeing through a blind-dating site.

Anyone else could know, but not him. Not Foster. I just wasn’t ready for that.

The more we talked these days, the more comfortable I was with him, though, and the sadder I became about the fact that there was no possibility of us ever solving the answer to that what-if. I was excited about Tyler and the possibilities with him and I was still glad that Foster and I had talked about it that last time we’d seen each other, but I just didn’t know.

It wasn’t just about him, either. It was more a general kind of nostalgia about how things were going. Ashley was getting married. I was going from strength to strength in this job. I found myself thinking about marriage a lot more often these days and what that would look like.

I’d never felt like more of an adult, and it was as scary as it was exciting.

“Are you okay?” Foster asked.

I nodded, clearing my throat. I tried to shake that sense of nostalgia. “I’m fine. I was just thinking about how long we’ve known each other and how strange it is that life brought us together again after all these years, and like this.”

He chuckled. “The universe sure knew what it was doing when you became the person who gave me this news and guided me through all of this. You made it smooth and easy, so thanks for that.”

“You’re very welcome.” I leaned over and pressed a finger against the papers. “We’re going to need you to initial here, and then again there.”

I pointed out all the parts where I needed his initials and his signature, and then it was done. Foster smiled, those eyes warming and crinkling a bit at the corners. “Thanks for all your hard work, Shelby. I appreciate it.”

“It was no problem. You and your family made it easy.” I got up when he did and walked him to the door, staying put before I opened it because I got the sense that he hadn’t said everything yet that he wanted to say.

There was this faraway look in his eyes and he kept opening his mouth and then closing it again. After a few moments, he chuckled and shook his head. “Sorry. I’m not usually this indecisive about things, but these days, I’m second-guessing everything.”

I frowned. “What are you second-guessing now?”

“Whether I should tell you how sorry I am that things never worked out between us.” He flashed me a sheepish grin. “I am, you know. Sorry. I think we could’ve made it work.”

“So do I, but we missed our time,” I said softly, lifting my gaze to his and sticking out my hand again. “See you, Foster. If you ever need to talk, give me a call. Just because we’re not together doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

He nodded, shook my hand, and left, and I stayed at the door for a minute after closing it behind him. All of this about seeing him was just so damn bittersweet, but it also felt like I was finally getting the closure I needed to start my love life over with a lot less baggage.

And that? That was a pretty freaking good thing.

25

FOSTER

I left Shelby’s office with a clear understanding of why I’d liked her so much. She and I clicked. We saw the world in a very similar way and we’d always been able to talk easily.

At the same time though, I didn’t have any real feelings for her anymore, now that I was so wrapped up in Amanda. I would just always have a special place for Shelby somewhere deep down inside, I guessed.

It didn’t detract in any way from what I had—or could have—with Amanda, but Shelby still made me feel like I was twenty-one years old and thought I had it all figured out. A much simpler version of myself than this guy, who was constantly overwhelmed by his own damn bank account.

On my way to have coffee with Porter before I went to the office, I wondered when that would stop. Everyone kept telling me that this was normal, but jeez. Porter had worked for his money. He’d taken years to design his earbuds and then to develop them.

Me? I hadn’t done anything. My grandfather—our grandfather—had died. Our estranged grandfather with whom I’d never spoken more than a few sentences.