“I’ll deal with it.” Right now, he didn’t give a fuck. And now was all he could focus on.
His heart faltered as the taxi pulled up outside the small airport. Dread weighed on his shoulders as he climbed out.
“No need to come in with me,” she protested when he opened the door for her.
“If you think I’m not going to stay with you as long as I possibly can, you’ve not learned anything about me this past week.” He hauled her case out of the boot while she paid the driver. He’d given up trying to pay for things after that first night. She was loaded; he wasn’t. Fact. His ego had taken a hammering, but he’d already felt guilty about risking his job both hereandat home. He hadn’t needed to add to the guilt by spending Ellie’s riding fund to appease his male pride.
They found the Cape Air check-in and dropped off her case. Then they walked slowly through the terminal, every step taking him closer to saying goodbye. To never seeing her again. By the time they reached security, his heart was so heavy, he was afraid he’d trip over it.
“Can I have your number?” And, yeah, he knew what her answer would be, but he couldn’t not try.
“That’s not a good idea.” Pain arrowed through him. He was falling apart; she was cool and together. Yet when her eyes met his, they looked as off balance as he felt. “If I had your number, I’d be tempted to call you,” she whispered. “And that would be wrong. This time together has been special, but we both knew it was finite. When I go back, I’ll be straight into a promotion fight that I want to win, Ideserveto win. I can’t afford distractions, no matter how pleasant they might be.”
Pleasant?
He must have flinched, because she placed a hand on his arm and squeezed. “Sorry, that sounded awful. In all honesty, I’m desperately trying to put what we had into a box that I’ll get to open again only when I’m feeling strong enough.”
Her voice caught, and he wrapped her in his arms. Her head automatically nestled into his chest, and her body shifted against his in a long shudder.Don’t shove us in a box. What we have is too special.Before he’d geared up to say it, she was talking again.
“I’m trying to do the sensible thing here,” she mumbled against his chest. “For both of us. Better to leave it now as a beautiful memory than try to resurrect something back home that, best case, will fizzle out. Worst case, will lead to bitterness or resentment.” She inched back and gave him a sad smile. “I told you, I’m an awful girlfriend. I end up hurting my partner because work will always come first for me.”
Could he handle being second best to her career? He’d been second best to his brother with his parents, way less than second best to Amy, so it wasn’t new to him. It was irrelevant, though, because when he got home, he’d have his little girl to focus on, the little girl Olivia knew nothing about. A girl he’d always put first.
Maybe itwasbetter this way.
He dug into his jeans pocket, took out the box, and handed it to her.
She eyed him curiously. “What’s this?”
“Nothing fancy. Call it a thank-you present. Thank you for taking a chance on me, for giving me the best week of my life.” His throat tightened, his voice sounded choked, but he plowed on. “It has been an honor to spend the time with you.”
Her hands shook as she pried off the lid and took out the bracelet, a delicate band of crystals in a rainbow of colors that had cost him more than he should have spent.
“Wow.”
“It’s so you don’t forget to add some color to your life.”
She blinked, her eyes glistening. “Thank you.”
He took it from her, secured it on her wrist, and gave her palm a gentle kiss.
Suddenly she threw her arms around his neck, almost knocking him off his feet. “Crap, I don’t cry.” She squeezed tight for a few seconds, then stepped back and wiped at her face, removing the evidence that proved what she’d just said to be a lie. “I’ve got to go before I embarrass us both. Thank you, Connor. Take care of yourself. And make sure you open that restaurant one day.”
And then she was gone, a slender figure in black, her neat ponytail bouncing behind her. He willed her to turn around so he could have one more look at her face but she didn’t, and he watched, tears burning his eyes, heart slowly breaking, as she disappeared round the corner.
Chapter 15
One month later
Olivia checked the time on her computer and groaned. She shouldn’t have agreed to meet her friend for lunch; she had way too much work to do.
Her phone beeped with a message from Meera.
Presume you’re just running late and aren’t canceling on me. Again. M x
Muttering a curse, she messaged that she was on her way.
Usually she’d take the stairs—she made sure to do at least ten thousand steps a day and sometimes her morning run wasn’t quite enough—but she figured Meera was pissed off enough at her for missing their lunch date last week, so she flew into the lift. A few minutes later, she slid into the vacant seat opposite Meera at their favorite café by the North Dock in Canary Wharf.
