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“I fucked up.” I walk closer. “I thought you flew out. I thought . . .”

I reach an arm toward the airport and become overwhelmed with that feeling of loss again. My eyes water, and my head feels like it might explode from coming so close to finding my forever person and having her stolen away. It’s what I’ve feared this entire situationship.

“I know what you heard earlier,” I say.

“What do you think I heard?” Sophia asks, appearing concerned.

“I’ve been keeping you from Adam since we made our agreement about the house. I never wanted you to find him,” I say. My gaze drops to the ground with guilt.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about it since I left for the airport, and I think I already knew the truth,” she says.

“You knew?” My gaze snaps back to her.

“I mean, I didn’t confirm it until I heard you talking to Casey earlier, but I was suspicious. The dance-mob flash-group thingy? Whoever heard of that? And then you personally taking me out to find Adam, even though you technically didn’t need to? Totally suspicious. Not to mention, Matt told me about Amber and Adam before I left. It explained a lot. Your boy is not a secret keeper.”

She shakes her head.

“But let me tell you what I learned from getting to know you these last few weeks. Adam and Amber not only hurt you, but they hurt the people you cared about. Adam abandoned a child because he thought his career was more important. You don’t know this, but my own dad did that to me. I’ve never met him. You could say it’s one of my big red flags.

“When I heard you and Casey talking, the only thing I really discovered is that you were trying to protect me like you always do. Sure, I can take care of myself, but it’s nice to have someone have my back when I can’t. It happens sometimes, even to me.

“And let’s be real here, Gio. If you told me the truth about Adam when we made our agreement, I wouldn’t have believed you. You and I were enemies. I was in a rough state, and you protected me, even when we weren’t friends, because that’s when I needed it most. So, thank you. That was very gentlemanly of you.”

I step closer and grasp the door of the Jeep. “So, you didn’t come here to meet Adam? You weren’t trying to find him again because of some crazy marriage pact you made a decade ago?”

I need to confirm it. I need to hear it from her lips for myself.

“Marriage pact?” She laughs. “Who told you that?”

“Fucking Matt.” I growl.

“Sounds like you got played. Twice.” She laughs.

“So, you didn’t see Adam?”

She turns thoughtful. Somehow, the world blurs to a silence as I wait for her answer. This moment could change everything.

“I did see him at the airport . . .” she wobbles her head, “from a distance. But then I turned around and walked the other way. The memory of him may have brought me to Hawaii, but the reality of him turned out to be a little different.”

“The reality?” I ask.

“The reality is he isn’t you. He could never be you,” she says with her gaze tethered to mine. “Even the sweet memories I had of him couldn’t live up to you. That’s why I turned down a car rental so we could hang out more. That’s why I didn’t read Adam’s text when he contacted me last Saturday. I was stalling because I changed my mind.” Her face turns away for a moment. “Turns out, you’re hard to compete with because you’re kind of amazing.”

I’m amazing? I swallow.

“Where does that leave us?” I ask because I’m too afraid to hope. But not my heart; the wild thing may flutter away.

“Here are your options,” Sophia says. “You can either get into my Jeep and admit you love me, and we can spend another week in Hawaii figuring out how we’re going to make this crazy relationship work, or we can go our separate ways. I hear Matt’s a mighty fine taxi driver. Your survival rate might be three percent. Five if you’re lucky.” She grins.

My mouth snaps shut. I steel my expression and square my shoulders. And then I make the only possible choice. I open the door and jump into the seat beside her. It’s the only place in the world I want to be.

My hand slips behind Sophia’s neck, and as I brush my lips over hers, I say, “I promised you I’d make you fall for me.”

48/

sophia

Almost Two Years Later