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Even knowing that, I had to go. I had to see her before she left. Even if I never even got to kiss Lana, I wanted to spend time with her while I could.
“I’m going to leave these cupcakes,” I said, and James put his hand up.
“Go. I think we can handle it.” He winked at me, and he and Grandpa shared a laugh.
I should have called her before showing up on her doorstep. I should have at least texted. But I was in such a rush to get to her house, I was knocking before I’d even thought about how it would look.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Dylan,” she said breathily.
Her eyes were less red, and her smile was still just as beautiful as ever.
“I’m sorry for showing up like this. But James told me about New York. And I . . . I had to see you before you left. To congratulate you on the job.”
I couldn’t help glancing down her body, at the way her short skirt gave such a great view of her shapely thighs.
Her full lips curved into a soft smile.
“Thanks,” she said brightly, then she looked over her shoulder. “I was just about to have dinner. Do you want to come in?”
I followed her inside the small, tidy apartment. The walls were mostly bare now, boxes stacked everywhere.
“Are you hungry? I have plenty of pasta." Lana said, leading me to the kitchen area.
"Starving," I admitted with a grin.
She gave us each a plate to fill, then we sat in her dining nook and ate. Tension hung in the air between us.
"How have you been?" Lana asked after a moment, her voice soft. "How are things with Todd?"
“That’s a good question.” At her frown, I added, “I’m sure he’s fine. I know he’s still working at the dealership, still has friends. I think he might have even slowed down on the drinking since you broke it off. I moved out and crashed in Brent’s basement until I found a place to rent. He insisted since he decided to stop speaking to me.”
Lana's face fell. "Dylan. I'm so sorry. I feel so bad about that. I tried to explain that you didn’t say anything to me.”
I waved her off. “I told him too. He’ll get over himself eventually and realize that the only person who did Todd wrong was Todd.”
The last thing I wanted to talk about with Lana was Todd. So, I leaned back and took a drink of water.
“Anyway, enough about that. Tell me about this job. James said it was at a fancy marketing agency in the city.”
Her pretty face lit up. “Riggs and Boone PR. They do promotions for a lot of celebrities’ perfume and fashion lines, write ads for a lot of Procter & Gamble products, that kind of thing. I found a cracker box apartment that’s still way too expensive, but my salary’s pretty good. I can make a real dent in my student loans, and once those are gone, find something a lot nicer.”
“That sounds really fantastic, Lana. I’m so happy for you.”
I was genuinely happy for her, even as my heart ached knowing she would soon be far away building her new life. Away from me.
She closed her eyes for a moment and stood, gathering the food and trash from the table. “I’m just so scared that I’ll go and something will happen to Grandpa. I’ll be three thousand miles away, and—”
“I’m here, Lana. When I go to check on my grandpa, I’ll check on James.” I stood and started helping her clean off the table. “They’re together most of the time anyway. Won’t be hard.”
“I’d appreciate that so much,” she said, her voice tight.
She was leaving tomorrow. It was now or never, wasn’t it?
“I’m going to miss running into you at Crystal Fountains,” I admitted. “Ever since we met, and especially for the last couple months, I’d hoped to see you every time I went.”
Lana nodded, licking her lips. She blinked fast and took a deep breath.
