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An awkward pause lags.
“I, um. This is for you.” Maeve hands me a small box that’s been carefully wrapped.
“Wow. Thanks.”
“It’s from Liam. I just wrapped it.” She rolls her eyes. “He did a shitty job.”
Maeve plays it off as nothing, but I take in the perfectly folded edges and the curled ribbon. She took some time to do this. It’s a gesture—a small one, but still an endorsement. She contributed to something Liam wanted to do for me, and it makes me think maybe there’s more room for a friendship between us than I thought.
“Thank you. That was really nice of you.”
She shrugs but smiles up at Wes when he wraps his arm back around her waist.
I open the carefully wrapped box and pull out a silver keychain. There’s a single lobster charm on it.
I smile.
“Is that a crab?” Chris asks, peering at it.
“It’s a lobster,” I inform him, staring at it for another few seconds before carefully tucking it into my pocket of my jeans. “I’ll, uh, I’ll be right back.”
I walk out the door that leads to the back deck. The backyard is empty, the pool covered for the coming winter. I lean against the railing and pull the keychain out again, also grabbing my phone and tapping his name.
Liam answers on the second ring. “Hey.” His husky voice does more to warm me than the thin sweater I’m wearing.
“Hi. I got your gift.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I love it.”
“I thought it was a good reminder of that night. Plus, lobsters mate for life, so it worked with the forever theme.”
I run my fingers along the ridges of the claws. “It’s perfect, Liam.”
“Good.”
“I’m going to freeze out here. I ducked outside to call you. I’m teaching a class early, so I’ll probably leave soon. I’ll call you then, okay?”
“Okay. I love you, Natalie.”
I smile. “I love you too.”
Then I hang up and hurry inside.
EPILOGUE
LIAM
TWO YEARS LATER
Iblink at the scoreboard. Once. Twice.
All this is familiar. The smell of torn grass. The heavy weight of my pads. Despite the cool air, I can feel the sweat rolling out of my helmet and down the back of my neck. I’m surrounded by steely determination. By guys looking to me to lead them.
I blink again.
But the numbers don’t change.
