“That mean it’s time to head back?” I asked, desperate to get away from Colin by now.
He thought I was an idiot who didn’t know the first thing about publishing or my own boyfriend’s life…
And he was right. And I hated the reminder.
“Please let me consume my body weight in caffeine first,” Felix pleaded. “I’m so tired.”
“I’ll make the drive back,” I volunteered. I’d been planning on doing it anyway, but I had an extra incentive now.
Felix hesitated, looking between me and Colin.
“I should go,” Colin said, draining his still-hot coffee and then backing away from the table. “Congratulations again, Felix. Looking forward to working with you.”
I watched in horror as he squeezed Felix’s bicep, a gesture I thought was a littletooaffectionate for the man who’d broken his heart.
Felix waved goodbye, and then turned to me. “You’re in that much of a hurry to go back to Slow Falls?” he asked.
Something deep inside me bristled. What was wrong with wanting to go back to Slow Falls? It was a nice place. It was myhome.
My whole life was there, my family, my friends.
“Don’t you… wanna see New York? Maybe spend a little more time here?”
“It’s not home,” I said, sharper than I meant to.
Felix’s face changed, but I couldn’t quite decide if it was for the better or the worse.
“Okay,” he said softly. “You’re tired. Let me grab a coffee to go and we’ll get out of here. I’m sorry for leaving you alone so much on this trip.AndI’m sorry you ran into Colin. I wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone.”
Felix squeezed my shoulder again, and all the tension I’d been carrying melted away, leaving me feeling stupid.
He was right. Colin insisting on a conversation had put me in a bad mood, and I was letting it get to me.
Felix just wanted to show me around town.
“Wait,” I reached out to stop him. “Let me get it to have here.”
Felix blinked at me. “Are you sure?”
I nodded, pushing aside the last of the dark cloud that’d settled over me. “I’m sure. I… I wasn’t… you know, you dodged a bullet with him.”
Felix smiled a wry little smile.
“Believe me, I know.”
21
Felix
Kieran’s fingerswrapped around mine in the middle of a crowded New York street was the best feeling I’deverexperienced in my entire life.
No one ever held hands with me. Not in public like this, and normally not even in private.
Colin had hated the idea, dismissed it as beingfor kids.
I’d always thought that was a stupid reason not to. I didn’tgetto hold hands with my boyfriend when I was a kid, because I was afraid to.
But Kieran had never stopped holding my hand. Even when we were too old for it.
