I heard him let out a shuddery breath, and even that was enough to crack my heart open.
“Fine,” he said after a pause so long that I thought he’d hung up. “If that’s how you feel I’ll respect your wishes. Take care of yourself, Emilia.”
I sniffled. “Yup. You too.”
We both paused, and I felt like I was standing at the edge of a cliff. Part of me wanted to hurl myself off and tell him that I missed him, that we should try again.
But deep down, I knew it would only prolong the pain, because eventually another problem would crop up and Drew Ashford would walk away instead of putting in the work to fix it. So I could either hurt now, or face an even deeper pain down the line.
“Good bye, Drew.”
I disconnected the call and let the tears flow. I dropped forward to hug my knees as I cried.
After a few minutes I felt a familiar nudge against my ankle.
“Win, are you comforting me?” I asked through my tears. “Thank you, buddy.”
I reached down to scratch his shell and contemplate how I was going to move past my feelings for Drew when I could now see him in every inch of my home.
“It’s you and me,” I repeated to Winston, hoping that I’d eventually believe that he was all I needed.
32
EMILIA
Despite my grandfather reassuring me half a dozen times that everything was fine, his directive to come visit him on an off day had me worried.
And was I imagining it, or were the employees being extra friendly to me today? I almost felt like a celebrity as I walked through the lobby since they all greeted me by name and smiled.
Something was definitely weird.
I knocked and burst into Poppy’s room all at once, dreading what I’d find.
“I hope you’re decent,” I said as I barreled in.
The man didn’t even jump at the commotion I made. Instead of sitting in his usual chair by the window he was standing at the counter in his kitchenette wearing pressed slacks, his best golf shirt and going out cap.
“There you are,” he grinned. “Coming in like a hurricane, as always.”
“What’s going on? Why are you dressed up?”
“Because we have a date. But first I want to show you something.”
He moved to the side and I saw that he’d been hiding a Clementine’s box on the counter. My heart sank just as quickly as it fizzed with hope.
“Oh. Nice, a whole cake just for you. How did that happen?” I asked.
His eyes twinkled. “You know exactly how, don’t be daft. Here.”
Poppy reached behind him then held out an envelope to me. I took it from him reluctantly.
When I opened it and pulled out the thick card I realized that I was seeing Drew’s handwriting for the first time. It was compact and messy, but what stood out to me was that he’d taken pen to paper to convey his thoughts. It tracked given that the man was the world’s biggest techno-phobe. What didn’t track was how the thought of it made me want to smile. Bad facial muscles. We don’t smile at the cute things he does anymore.
“What’s it say?” Poppy asked. “Or is it too saucy for an old man like me?”
I snorted and tried to focus on him instead of the words on the note, because my eyes started swimming the moment I read it.
“It says ‘sweet things help you find joy when everything else feels dark.” My voice trembled.
