“Oh my God!” Kitty’s eyes widen and she grabs Greyson by the arm. “We’re cousins. How weird is that?”
“Zero percent weird,” Greyson says. “Everything is right in the universe.”
By the time Beth gets the girls to leave the apartment for family photos, the other guests have already left for the restaurant. I load the two boxes I need to bring with me into the trunk of my rental car before doing a final sweep of Jo’s condo to make sure I haven’t missed anything. When I step back into the parking lot, I spot Ollie staring at his phone from where he sits on the ground beside Alex’s unit.
My pulse races, heart skipping away as if running toward a springboard.Now, the voice in my head says. I walk right past my rental and cross the parking lot.
Ollie doesn’t notice me at first. He’s frowning at his phone. The groove between his brows deepens as he swears at it.
“Need a ride?” I say when I stop in front of him.
Ollie lifts his head in surprise, and the wrinkle fades a bit when he sees me. “Nina.”
“Hi.”
“Hi,” he says.
“Do you need a ride?” I say. “Or are you planning to sit here all day?”
Ollie frowns at his phone again. “This fecking thing. My roaming sucks, and I don’t know Alex or Jo’s Wi-Fi passwords. Can’t even get a fecking Uber,” he says.
“Sounds like a yes to me. Come on.”
I don’t wait to see if he’ll come. I turn and start toward the car, hoping he will. Ollie sighs, and I am both relieved and even more terrified when I hear his footsteps behind me. I hope he can’t sense how nervous I am. All the things I want to say run wild in my mind. It’s like a goddamn toddler tumbling class in there.
We’re silent as we get into the car. Silent as we click our seat belts into place and I pull out of the parking lot and onto South Ocean Boulevard. If he wonders why I’m not driving my convertible, he doesn’t ask. The silence is unbearable. Awkward. There’s so much I want to ask. How is he? How’s the pub? Does he still like it in Ireland? Does he regret it? Does he miss me? Does he still love me?
One mile. Then two. My mind flits to the things I have in the center console of the car. Right there between us. We still haven’t spoken a word when the restaurant comes into view. I park in an empty spot and cut the engine. Ollie mutters a thank-you and undoes his seat belt. I panic, realizing this might be the only moment I can get alone with him.
“Wait!” I say. I wrench open the center console and gather into my hands everything I have inside it.
Ollie’s hand stills on the passenger door.
“You were right.” One of the papers in my hands slips loose. “Shit,” I say, fumbling to grab it and put it back with the others.
“Right about what?” Ollie says.
“Everything.”
Ollie eyes me skeptically. I get it. It’s not every day I go around telling people they’re right about anything, let aloneeverything, especially him.
“When I went to see you in Ireland, you said things wouldn’t be different. You said I hadn’t really changed. That I didn’t really want a life with you because I hadn’t even thought about it. You were right.”
Ollie narrows his eyes. “Jesus, if all you wanted was to tell me I was right about that, I would’ve rather you just—”
“No!” I say. “That’s not... I’m not saying this right.” My hands are shaking. Everything is coming out all wrong. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve played through this conversation in my head, the reality of it is so much more complicated and terrifying than I had imagined. “What I mean is I couldn’t really want a life with you because I couldn’t even imagine what it would look like. I couldn’t imagine anything for my life other than what it already was. I hadn’t changed at all, like you said. But I have now. I know exactly what I want, and I want to be with you, Ollie. For real. Iwantto change. I need to. I’ve already begun.”
Ollie opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “Wait, please.” I shuffle through the papers in my hands, but I’m so nervous I can’t take in what’s in front of me. “Oh shit. I had this whole speech, but it seems so wrong now, and I can’t remember most of it anyway... Right! Here!”
I find the paper I’m looking for and pass it into his hands. “See? I mean it.”
He takes the paper in his hands. He skims it and pauses, his gaze flicking up to meet mine. “You gave up your apartment?”
“Yup. And there’s this...” I pass him another paper.
“You sold the car,” he says.
I hand him a stack of papers next, and Ollie glances over them, confused. “What is—”
