"I want to remember this," Lucy said, curled into Jake's side. "Just normal. Just us."
"It'll always be us. Distance doesn't change that."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
That night, lying in Jake's bed, Lucy couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about tomorrow—the flight, the arrival, the new apartment, the culinary school. Everything unknown.
"Talk to me," Jake said into the darkness. "What are you thinking?"
"That tomorrow everything changes. That in twenty-four hours, I'll be in Paris. That we'll be an ocean apart."
"And?"
"And I'm scared. Not of Paris—of losing this. Of the distance changing things between us."
Jake pulled her closer. "Lucy, listen to me. We're not going to lose this. We're going to have to work at it, yeah. We're going to miss each other. But this—" he gestured between them, "—this is real. It doesn't disappear just because you're in Paris."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've never been surer of anything in my life. I love you. Not because you're convenient or nearby or easy. But because you're you. That doesn't change based on geography."
Lucy buried her face in his chest and let herself cry—all the fear and excitement and grief and hope spilling out.
Jake held her through it all, steady and certain.
"I love you," Lucy whispered when she could speak again.
"I love you too. Now, tomorrow, and every day you're in Paris. That's not changing."
They fell asleep wrapped around each other, and Lucy tried to memorize everything—the sound of Jake's heartbeat, the warmth of his arms, the feeling of being completely safe.
Tomorrow, everything would change.
But tonight, they had this.
And it would have to be enough to last six months.
Monday morning arrived too soon.
Lucy's flight was at 8 AM, which meant they needed to leave for the airport by 5:30. Jake had barely slept, too aware that these were their last hours together for months.
At 4:45 AM, Lucy's alarm went off. Neither of them moved.
"We could stay here," Lucy said. "I could miss my flight. Cancel Paris. Keep everything the same."
"You don't mean that."
"I know. But it's tempting."
They got up slowly, moving through the morning routine they'd developed over the past three months. Jake made coffee while Lucy showered. Lucy made toast while Jake loaded her luggage into his truck.
Two massive suitcases. One carry-on. A purse stuffed with paperwork and her passport.
Her entire life, condensed into luggage.
At The Bread Basket, they found Uncle Walter, Rei, Mae, and half the Wolves team waiting in the pre-dawn darkness.
