"Jake—"
"I need to think. I need—I need space to figure out what I'm feeling."
Marcus looked at his friend with concern. "Okay. But Jake—don't overthink this. Lucy came back. That means something."
"Or it means Paris didn't work out and she had nowhere else to go."
"You don't believe that."
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
Jake drove home and sat in his apartment, trying to process.
Lucy was back. After three months of silence, of moving on, of learning to live without her—she was back.
Part of Jake wanted to run to her. To knock on Uncle Walter's door and pull her into his arms and tell her he'd missed her every single day.
But another part—the part that had spent three months healing—was scared. Scared of getting hurt again. Scared of opening his heart to someone who'd already broken it once.
His phone buzzed. A text from Lucy:I know you probably heard I'm back. Can we talk? Tomorrow?
Jake stared at the message for a long time.
Finally, he typed:Yeah. Tomorrow. Mac's Tavern at 2 PM?
Lucy:Okay. See you then.
Jake:See you then.
Jake set down his phone and tried to breathe.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd see Lucy for the first time in three months. Tomorrow he'd find out why she came back. Tomorrow he'd have to decide if he was brave enough to try again.
Or if three months of healing had been enough to make him realize he was better off alone.
Sunday morning, Lucy barely slept.
She woke at 6 AM—her body still on Paris time—and lay in Uncle Walter's guest room, trying to figure out what to say to Jake.
I'm sorry. I was wrong. I missed you. I love you. Can we try again?
All of it was true. None of it felt like enough.
At noon, Lucy started getting ready. She changed outfits three times before settling on jeans and the gray sweater Jake had always loved. Casual. Like this was no big deal. Like her entire future didn't depend on this conversation.
"You look beautiful," Uncle Walter said when Lucy came downstairs.
"I look terrified."
"That too. But mostly beautiful." Uncle Walter pulled her into a hug. "Lucy, whatever happens—you made the right choice coming home. Remember that."
"What if he doesn't want me anymore?"
"Then he doesn't deserve you. But I don't think that's what's going to happen."
At 1:45 PM, Lucy walked to Mac's Tavern. It was only three blocks, but it felt like miles. Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely breathe.
Jake was already there when she arrived. Sitting at a back table, wearing jeans and a dark blue henley, looking exactly the same and completely different.
