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It took less than a week of sharing a bed with him for my body to become dependent on those muscular arms being wrapped around me to sleep. When I woke up at—actually, I don’t know what time it is thanks to my window shades—my heart sank when I couldn’t wriggle back against him.

One thing has instantly become clear—saying goodbye, or pulling away, or whatever it is that I’m doing, is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s for the best. Better to cut ties now and spare more heartbreak later—except now, I know those ties can never truly be severed and cauterized.

Trying to push that thought out of my mind, I bury my head back into my pillows for some much-needed sleep. If I’m going to meet Grace at this yoga retreat in Montana, I’m going to have a lot of driving to do over the next few days. That’s what I let fill my head—pictures of the open road, something that has always been comforting to me. My eyes finally start to flutter shut again, right as I hear a loud engine getting closer.

Hopefully, they’re following the road further up, and I can attempt to get back to sleep. The crunching of the tires on dirt and gravel crawls to a stop, followed by the squeal of brakes.

Thunk.

My eyes fly open at the sound of a car door slamming shut somewhere outside. I groan, pounding a fist into the pillow that Sly’s head should be on. So much for sleep.

I slide out of bed and grab my bear spray before pulling back one of my window screens. My heart skips a beat when I catch a glimmer of a familiar red through the narrow opening.

I open the sliding door without bothering to look who’s out there. Clearly, I haven’t learned my lesson from the bear incident, but I don’t care. I want to see him, even if it might be the last time.

Bear spray in hand, the door finally opens. I’m still in my sleep shorts and the hoodie that smells like him, just like the rest of my van.

“Oh.” Standing in the door of my van, I look down to see Sisi, not the man I was hoping for. “Hi.”

She raises a brow. “Wow. Don’t look so thrilled to see me.”

My shoulders slump, and I sigh. “I’m sorry. I just⁠—”

She waves a hand, and her expression softens. “Nothing to be sorry for. I actually came to apologize to you.”

I squint in confusion. “Apologize? For what? You’re not the one holding onto some petty high school grudge.”

“True, but I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t seem judgmental last night, because I’m not,” she says, fidgeting with her hands before looking back up with a nervous smile. “I have questions because I’m curious more than anything. I know we didn’t talk a lot about my wedding that didn’t happen or my lack of dating life before or after that, and⁠—”

“And we don’t have to, not if you don’t want to.”

“No, that’s not it at all.” She shakes her head and lets out a long breath. “Look, I’m just… inexperienced, and living in a town like this, I don’t really have a lot of women my age to talk to. You saw how judgmental the ones who are here were last night. That’s not who I want to talk to.”

I step down from my van so that we’re eye to eye because she did not inherit the Sterling family height gene like her brothers. This friendship, like my bond with her brother, feels so much stronger—like the ten-year break never happened. Her kindness and her compassion are why we were always so close. “You can always talk to me—always.”

“Sly said you’re leaving. Stay in touch this time? Please? I need a friend I can talk to.” I feel a knot lodge in my throat right as I pull her into a hug. “I don’t want to lose you again—neither of us do.”

“Are we really going to cry?” I sniffle into her shoulder.

“Oh, definitely.” She laughs. “Especially you.”

I pull back from her to give her a funny look. “Why me? Wait… Why do you have Sly’s car?”

A knowing grin spreads over her face. “Same answer for both questions.”

I roll my eyes. “Can you not be so cryptic right now?”

“You know, I’m starting to wonder how you’ve survived on your own, in a van, for the last ten years.”

My head whips toward the front of the van and the overlook behind it—toward the source of that unmistakably deep, comforting voice. My eyes scan the overlook, and that’s when I see him, leaning against one of the trees that frames the view of the valley below us, right beside the log bench.

Sisi brings me back into her embrace. “I’m going to leave the two of you alone. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Of course. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

She breaks our hug and wipes away a tear. “Then let’s talk soon. You, me, and Grace need to hang out again.”

She waves to me and tips her chin to her brother before walking back to his car. Sly and I both stand unmoving, watching as the car disappears back down the dirt road.