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He drew in a deep breath and nodded. “True, for sure.”
She knew this moment was going to hurt, but she had vastly underestimated the severity of that pain. This was by far the hardest goodbye she’d ever had to say, and it took every ounce of strength she had to keep herself composed and not reverse her decision. But, since she didn’t know how much longer that strength was going to hold out, it was time to go. She got to her knees and rocked back on her heels in anticipation of leaving.
She forced herself to look into his compassionate eyes one last time. “You, Grant Torres, are amazing. And it has been my great honor to get to know you.” She leaned forward and brushed a kiss across his cheek. “Time for you to change the world,” she whispered.
And before she could talk herself out of it, she stood and made her way to the long ladder without looking back.
Grant sat on the platform and watched her walk away. So that was it, huh?
Yes, he’d had girlfriends before. He’d even claimed to be in love before. But never had he come close to feeling anything like he did for Molly.
He watched her until she disappeared in the trees. Sure, he could’ve stopped her. He could’ve said the words that had been building up inside of him since the moment they’d met. The better question was,shouldhe?
Clearly, Molly wasn’t in the same place as he was. She had her own goals. Her own dreams. Her own views about relationships. Maybe he could’ve pressed the issue. Maybe he could’ve even convinced her to give it a chance, but at what cost? He loved her for who she was. He’d never ask her to be anything other than that. Even if that meant he couldn’t be with her.
So that was it, then. From here on out, he could honestly say he’d fallen in love once. It was the all-consuming kind of love that rocked him to his core and made him believe in words like “forever.” He knew what it was like to be with the person who made him the man he wanted to be, who completed him.
Of course, the only one he’d ever truly loved also happened to be the one he couldn’t be with.
Chapter Twenty Two
“It’s official,” Molly said aftershe took her first sip of coffee on the balcony Tuesday morning. “Dr. Lacey comes back on Monday.” She had to work to keep the note of cheerfulness in her voice. After all, this was what she’d wanted, wasn’t it? For her job here to come to an end and be able to move on to the next adventure? Then why did her heart feel so heavy?
“Really?” Ellyn cradled her coffee mug between her hands, her bouncy morning expression turning somber. “I’d kinda started thinking maybe she wouldn’t come back and you could stay here forever.”
“Does that mean this is your last week?” Hadley’s brow was furrowed with a look of concern and disappointment.
Molly had to admit their reactions were a small-scale version of her own. How had the time gone so fast? “No, thank goodness. She asked if I could stay on for two additional weeks to help her transition.”
“Well, I’m sad there’s an official end date,” Ellyn said. “But three weeks is better than three days, so I’ll take it.”
“Me, too.” Hadley took a sip of her coffee. “Any idea where you’ll go next?”
Molly shrugged, running through the list of available positions. “There are a few options I’m considering.” And one location that was a hard pass, but she kept that tidbit to herself.
“Are any of those options close?” Ellyn gestured out to the ocean. “I’m just saying, a view like this can make a drive worth it.”
“Sadly, short of trading my car for a plane, none of them are anywhere close to commuting distance.” That had been the first thing she’d checked.
“Have you completely ruled out the plane thing?” Hadley asked. “Because I think you could make that work.”
“I wish.” Molly let out a sigh. The three of them were quiet for a moment, letting the distant sounds of waves filter through the morning air. “I was kind of holding off on committing to the next job until I had a firm end date for this one. But now that it’s official, I guess it’s time to get serious about making a final decision.” Although a big chunk of her indecision had less to do about not knowing her end date and more to do with the fact that deep down she didn’t want to leave.
Man, she was going to miss this place. It wasn’t just the sweeping ocean views and the refreshing sea breezes that she was sad to leave behind, although walking away from this view would be hard. The part that she was going to miss the most, the part that made leaving so difficult, was the sense of community, the incredible people, and the life-giving friendships. And at the top of that list were the two dear friends standing on either side of her.
“And what about Grant?” Hadley gently lobbed the question in the air as if tossing a practice Wiffle Ball to a timid toddler. Ellyn shot her a warning look, to which Hadley played innocent.
Yes, Molly had been doing her best to avoid thinking about Grant since their sunset rendezvous, but that didn’t mean he was a taboo subject. She was happy to answer her friends’ questions. It was just that it was…well…complicated. “He leaves on Saturday.” Molly tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible, as if she was a news reporter delivering the facts. She took a sip of her coffee to cover any residual emotion that might’ve popped up on her face.
“Saturday? Like, this Saturday?” Ellyn, on the other hand, didn’t bother to mask her shock.
“The timeline for his new project moved up.” Molly traced an imaginary design on the railing. Facts. She was simply reporting the facts. “But it’s a good thing. This is a great opportunity for him.”
Both Hadley and Ellyn stared at her for a second, neither of them bothering to hide the concern or questions that seemed to be brewing in their head.
“How long have you known?” Hadley asked, taking the first bold step into a conversation that promised to go deeper than Molly had any intention of going.
“He told me on Saturday.” Once again, it was a simple fact, as if she was stating that the current temperature was eighty-one degrees. Perhaps it was a little balmier than appreciated, but it was what it was, right?
