“She’s going home. Why would you sleep with Daisy? How could you be so stupid?”
“Daisy’s my physical therapist, you know that.”
“I know, but you didn’t need to sleep with her. You broke that poor girl's heart.” She swats at my chest again.
“I didn’t sleep with Daisy. She was working on my knee, that’s all. I let Cam believe it after I found out she had a boyfriend this whole fucking time.”
Lark pokes my chest. “Don’t you use that language in here, Grayson Brewdy, or I will set my mama on you.”
I hold my hands up in defeat; the letter caught between my fingers.
Lark’s brow furrows. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend, jackass. She blocked that deranged prick when he moved back into her apartment, wanting her back. He’s another jerk that let her down, settling for her until something better came along. She told me everything, Gray.”
“So if he’s not her boyfriend, how come she still has him on her socials?” I press my phone on, tapping the F icon, then type her name, thrusting it in Lark’s face. “See.”
“What am I supposed to be looking at?”
I turn the phone around to look at her status that says ‘single’. My stomach tightens. My insides twist up like spaghetti. What have I done? “Did you know she signed Tranquili-tea over to me?”
“I didn’t know that, but you don’t deserve it, and you don’t deserve the love she had for you.”
“Had?” It can’t be too late to salvage this. “Help me get her back, Lark.”
She checks her phone. “You’re too late. She’ll be boarding a plane now.”
“No. No. No.” I run down the porch steps of the inn, clutching the paperwork in my hand and dialling her cell with my other. After ringing out, it goes to voicemail. “Cam, it’s me. Don’t get on that plane. Please. I’m begging you, flower. Let me explain everything. Please don’t leave.” I try her one more time, but get the same voicemail.
The phone slips from my hand like Cam slipping through my fingers. I can’t keep her here. I know in my heart it’s too late. I stare at my hands, the same hands that held her in my arms. She was mine for a brief moment, but I couldn’t hang on to her.
Holding my hand over my brow as a visor, I glance up into the sky. A dot of a plane flies overhead, and I watch it disappear into the clouds, along with all my hopes and dreams of making a life with her.
I slump into the tea shop. The bell dings above me. I think about tearing it from the wall, but I only have myself to blame. Taking my anger out on a bell isn’t going to solve anything.
Julian rushes over to me. “What’s happened?”
“She’s gone.” This can’t be it. I won’t let this be it. I steel my spine, scrunch the paperwork in my hand and stuff it in my back pocket. “Can you take care of the tearoom while I’m away?”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to bring my girl back home where she belongs.”
Julian claps his hands together while jumping on his toes. “Of course I will. I’ll book your flight. Leave it to me.”
I take the stairs two steps at a time. I have no clue when the next flight out is, but whenever it is, I’m going to be on it. To hell with the cost. I’ll put it on my credit card and worry about that later. Grabbing a large duffel, I shove a load of clothes inside, then grab the toiletries from the bathroom, missing how her toothbrush was nestled next to mine.
My heart pounds with a new sense of determination. I should have done this ten years ago. So many regrets, but I will not add this to my long list of failures.
I may not have much to offer her, but my cup is overflowing with love for that girl. If she’ll have me, I can offer her a lifetime of loyalty, love, and happiness in our small corner of Tranquili-tea.
The door creaks open. “I’m almost done packing. Did you get me on a flight?” I grab my passport, relieved it’s still in date, and stuff a jacket into my bag.
“Where are you flying to?” Cam’s voice floats across the room, like an angel’s song. I must be dreaming, but when I turn around, she’s standing in my doorway, clutching the handle to her red suitcase, just like she was when she arrived.
My heart stutters. “You’re here. You came back.” My legs won’t move, despite every cell willing me to scoop her up in my arms.
“I never left. I saw Daisy when I was buying chocolates at Cocoa Corner for the flight. She asked me how your knee was after her physio. I thought—”
“I know what you thought. And I let you believe it because I thought you had a boyfriend.” I force my feet to take a few steps towards her. “I’m sorry, Cam.”
