And that was the hardest part. For all she knew, he might have read the letters and thrown them away. Or maybe he never received them at all.
And now, the man who had broken her heart, whose son she was raising, was standing five feet away and staring at her like she was the one who had disappeared.
She swallowed hard and stayed calm. She didn’t say a word.
Let Gus do the talking.
Let the two of them tour the site like this was any other inspection.
She didn’t watch them go. Just turned away clenching the clipboard so tight her knuckles ached. The pain kept her focused.
Like he hadn’t just sucker-punched her. Like she wasn’t standing there holding herself together by sheer force of will. Like she couldn’t handle bad news when she’d already survived the worst kind.
The backs of her eyes burned, but she blinked hard. She refused to let him see her crack. Not today.
Fine by her.
Let him walk away. He was good at that.
She had work to do.
And if Finn Ryder thought he would just step in and play the hero? Think he could take over her project?
He had another think coming.
They were almost done.Gus thanked Finn for coming, clapped him on the shoulder, then stepped aside to take a call.
And then it was just her and Finn. Alone.
“Yeah.” He looked around. “So you’re the project manager?”
She nodded. “I am.”
His eyes scanned the structure, the workers loading a load of lumber from the flatbed. “You’ve done a lot with the place.”
“I’m trying to bring it back to life,” she said, voice calm, despite the pounding of her heart.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” he added after a beat.
“I can imagine,” she replied. “It’s been a while.”
“Yeah.”
He glanced over toward Gus, then at her again.
He didn’t ask anything else. Not about her life. Not about the years in between.
And maybe that was for the best.
Because if he had asked, she wasn’t sure what she would’ve said.
She stepped back slightly. “I should get back to the crew.”
“Of course,” he said.
She turned before he could say anything more. Before her voice cracked or her composure slipped.
Let him walk away. He’d done it before.
