Page 23 of Not Because You Loved Me

Trent swallowed hard, bowing his head as the truth crushed him. "I know how this looks," he whispered. “I'm so sorry I can't go to Zurich with you to prove what I am saying is true. I love you, Kat‌.”

I frowned slightly. "I didn't ask you to come."

"I know," he said, looking down at me with glassy eyes, "But I would have. I would have bought a ticket and followed you today if I could. But with my mom high-risk, my dad needs me and Gid to run the company so he can take care of her. I have to stay. But when do you get back?"

"The contract is for four months," I mumbled. "May."

"Can we stay in touch?" Trent asked, his tone laced with desperate hope. "Please, Kat. Let me earn this back. I want to work on us. I will be waiting right here when you get home."

I looked at him, at the exhaustion in his posture, the raw truth in his eyes, and the promise he was making. My heart didn't scream yes, but for the first time in weeks, it didn't scream run either.

"I have a flight to catch, Trent," I said gently. "I need to finish packing."

Three hours later, I was standing in my entryway beside my bags, waiting for my driver confirmation on my phone, when a knock sounded again. I opened the door to find Trent standing there. He had cleaned himself up, and his truck was idling in my driveway.

"Cancel the car," Trent said quietly, gesturing to the driveway. "Let me drive you to the airport."

I hesitated for a beat, staring at him. Then, I closed the app, picked up my heavy duffel, and handed it to him. "Okay."

The thirty-minute drive to the airport was quiet, filled with an awkward tension that neither of us knew how to break. But it wasn't hostile anymore. It was just... raw.

When he pulled up to the departures curb, Trent got out, unloaded my bags, and stood beside my luggage cart in the freezing winter wind.

"Can I get your address over there?" Trent asked, his hands shoved deep into his coat pockets. "I just... I want to know you're safe. Can I reach out?"

"I'll text you the address when I land," I said, zipping my jacket up to my chin. "And... yes. You can reach out."

A breath of relief escaped his lips. He reached inside his inner coat pocket and pulled out a cream-colored envelope. He held it out to me.

"This is for you," Trent said, his dark eyes holding mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "Safe flight, Kat."

Before I could say anything, he leaned down, pressed a lingering, gentle kiss to the top of my head, and turned back to his truck. I watched him drive away until his taillights disappeared into the airport traffic.

Two hours later, I was sitting at Gate 54, a lukewarm coffee in my hand, watching the snow fall outside the massive glass windows.

I pulled Trent's letter out of my coat pocket. My name was written on the front in his bold, familiar handwriting. I unsealed the flap and pulled out the single sheet of paper inside.

Kat,

I know I failed you when you asked me when and why I fell in love with you. I panicked because the truth felt too big, and I was too stupid to realize that silence can be worse than saying the wrong thing.

I didn't fall in love with you when I thought you were carrying my baby. I fell in love with you months before that.

I fell in love with you on a random Tuesday in August, watching you stand in my kitchen in my oversized hoodie, arguing with me about the correct way to make garlic bread, laughing until you had to wipe tears from your eyes.

I fell in love with the way you hold your pen in your teeth when you're analyzing player injury reports. How your eyes twinkle when you are thinking something dark and sarcastic, and I cannot wait to hear your thoughts later.

I fell in love with the way you tuck into my side and fit perfectly. How you track me in your sleep like a heat-seeking missile when it is cold outside.

I love you for you, Kat. Long before the test, long before the ring. I was just too blind to show you properly.

Have a safe flight. I’ll be waiting.

— Trent

I pressed the letter against my chest, turned my head toward the window, and let the tears fall quietly into the snowy night.

CHAPTER 14