Then he literally turned and sauntered away, taking the last drag of his cigarette and flicking it into the bushes with a practiced hand, the same way I had seen him do about a million times as a teenager. Dropped a bomb and didn’t even have the decency to run.
Harris chose the perfect time to come down the front steps, Mom on his arm.
“You ready, babe?”
“Amelia,” Mom said, looking into my face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
How could I possibly make her understand that I had?
ParkerTHE SHALLOW END
AS THE DOUBLE SLIDING DOORSof the airport opened, I tapped my Fly Delta app and clicked “ticket change.” I don’t know what it was about that moment that convinced me, but I knew I couldn’t go back to Palm Beach. At least, not without Amelia.
I had been so sure that she would come talk to me before she left, that she felt what I felt, that we were finally on the same page. But she hadn’t. I had decided this morning to let it go, to move forward. Now, I had undecided.
The next flight to New York wasn’t until five p.m., which would put me in the city about eight. Amelia and Harris would arrive back in the city by two. That gave her six hours to forget about Cape Carolina and me and that kiss. It gave her six hours to start packing, to put wheels in motion toward a new life, a life that didn’t include me. What if I was too late?
I sighed. Maybe it was fate. I almost gave up, decided that it wasn’t meant to be.
But then it was like I could actually hear Greer in my head, telling me that she wanted me to be happy.
So, what the hell? Amelia might reject me. I might fall flat on my face. But I’d lived through worse.
I raced to the ticket counter and said breathlessly to a stern-looking woman with orange-red chin-length hair and a Delta-blue uniform, “Have you ever seenLove Actually?”
She raised her eyebrow. I would take that as a yes.
After an hour of infuriating, nearly stopped traffic, six blocks from Amelia’s apartment, I said, “Just let me out here, please.”
“No, no, a few more blocks,” the cabbie replied.
“Yeah, man, I know. But I want to get out here.” I tossed him cash and jumped out, running down the sidewalk, my wheeled carry-on behind me, everyone on the street looking.
My heart was pounding both from the fact that I hadn’t actually run in far too long and because I was panicking. I was doing my dead-level best to get there, but what if I was too late? Not that moving in with someone was saying marriage vows or anything, but it was big. And it was messy.
It wasn’t until I got to Amelia’s door, out of breath and, I’m sure, red-faced, that I realized I didn’t have a clue what I was going to say. Certainly, some grand profession of love would scare her off. But a lukewarmI know you’re moving in with a man you love, but I think I might like youprobablywasn’t going to be compelling enough to make her want to walk away from the future she was creating with him.
Before I could decide, the door opened, and I was face-to-face with Martin. As I leaned over, my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath, he said, “Ew. You’re so sweaty.”
I looked past him into the living room and stood up again. “No boxes?” I practically panted.
“Lord. Come inside and sit down,” he said. “What is going on with you? You are a mess.” As I sat down, he said, “Ohhhhhh. You’re a mess because your second one true love is moving in with another man. Poor baby.”
“Where is she?” I was finally catching my breath, and the room was coming into focus. Amelia wasn’t here. I hadLove Actuallyed my heart out, but I had still been too late. Well, actually, as Sharon, my new BFF at Delta, had informed me, it was lessLove Actuallyand moreThe Parent Trap, because I was trying to beat the woman I loved home. It didn’t seem nearly as romantic to me, but I had acquiesced because I thought doing so would get me on an earlier flight. I was right.
“Her flight was delayed. She isn’t even home yet.”
I sank back on the sofa.
But then the door flew open and Amelia walked through it in jeans and a T-shirt, which she looked amazing in, I might add. She looked from Martin to me and said casually, “Whatcha doin’?”
Now I looked at Martin, like he was going to help me out of this situation.
“Where is my boss?” Martin asked, throwing daggers out his eyes at Amelia.
“Oh, um, home, I presume. Or, if he is to be believed, at a bar somewhere, trying to forget that I exist.”
Martin sighed dramatically and stood up. “This is why you don’t set your boss up.” He waved his hand, pulled out his phone, and said, “Well, I’d better get on Find My Friends and fix this mess you’ve made. Thank God I’m a fixer for a living.” He pointed at Amelia and said, his voice laced with annoyance, “I’ll deal with you later.”
