“Thank you,” I breathe out.
The moment she’s gone, I turn in a circle, searching the thinning crowd. A few other competitors linger, their families clustered around them. The judges have disappeared. And River?—
He’s not here.
My heart sinks like a stone in my chest.
“Hey.” Kiki appears at my elbow, her voice gentle. “You alright?”
I shake my head, unable to form words past the lump in my throat.
“Kiera?” She steps in front of me, her brow furrowed with concern. “What’s wrong? You won!”
“I made a terrible mistake,” I whisper.
Her expression softens with understanding. “Hey, listen, even if you did make a mistake while cooking, it all turned out great. You won the scholarship! That’s all that matters.”
“No.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “You don’t understand. I made a mistake when I broke up with River.”
When I open my eyes, Kiki’s face has transformed. That knowing look—the one that says she saw this coming from a mile away—settles over her features. She presses a kiss to my forehead, her hand warm on my shoulder.
“Then go find him,” she says simply.
The drive to River’s house passes in a blur. My hands shake on the steering wheel, my mind racing through everything I want to say. Everything I need to say. I rehearse the words over and over, but they all sound wrong, inadequate.
How do you tell someone you love them after you’ve pushed them away?
His house comes into view, and my stomach flips. His car sits in the driveway. He’s home. I pull up to the curb, cutting the engine, and then I just sit there, staring at his front door.
You can do this. You have to do this.
I force myself out of the car before I can talk myself out of it. My legs feel shaky as I walk up the path, my heart hammering so hard I’m certain the entire neighborhood can hear it.
The doorbell echoes inside the house, and I hold my breath.
Footsteps. The lock clicking. The door swinging open.
And there he is.
River looks... good. Really good. His hair is slightly messy, that look I’m so familiar with, and he’s wearing that simple gray t-shirt that does unfair things to his shoulders. For a moment, we just stare at each other, and I watch something flicker across his face—surprise, hope, caution.
“Kiera.” My name on his lips nearly undoes me.
I open my mouth, trying to find the words I practiced in the car, but before I can speak, movement behind him catches my eye.
Shelly steps into view.
My heart plummets straight through the floor.
She’s there. In his house. Her blonde hair perfectly styled, her smile sharp and satisfied as she takes in my expression. She’s here, with River.
“Hi, Kiera,” she says sweetly, moving to stand just behind River’s shoulder. “Congrats on the win. We were just talking about it.”
We. The word lands like a punch to my stomach.
He’s moved on. Of course he has. Why wouldn’t he? I broke up with him, told him I didn’t want this, pushed him away?—
“Do you want to come in?” River asks, and there’s something careful in his voice, something guarded that wasn’t there before.
