“I do. And I wonder how the hell I didn’t.”
“Emotions make us miss things sometimes. And you care about him. A lot.”
“That I do.”
“Then you’ve got the main thing you need.” She pulls me into another hug. “I’m happy for you. Seriously.”
“What about you? I didn’t ruin your vacation with all of my drama, right?”
“Nowhere near it,” she replies. “I think I needed this. Maybe I’ll go through my own life with more hope. Until a man inevitably ruins it.”
“They always try.”
“Keep in touch, okay? And maybe I’ll make it to Nashville soon so I can see more of you and Nate in action.”
“I would love that.” We say goodbye one last time before I make my way to Nate. He’s still on his phone, but lets me lean on him.
“Okay,finally. Remind me to make plans for rides way sooner.” He looks up. “Wait, where’s Scarlett?”
I look back, but she must have made her way through the crowd. “I already said bye.”
“I wanted to at least say goodbye. She must think I’m such an ass for how little I’ve said to her.”
“She likes you, don’t worry.” I roll my eyes. “She mentioned visiting Nashville so we could all hang out.”
“I look forward to it.”
Leaning my head on his shoulder, I say, “There’s a lot I’m looking forward to. Ready to make it happen?”
“Always, berry.”
The flightback to Nashville is better than the one to Orlando.
Still, the second I sit, I can tell travel has taken its toll on me. Even though I got a full night of sleep, I find myself leaning my head on Nate’s shoulder.
“And this is what we call travel exhaustion,” he says.
“Do you feel it too?”
“Oh yeah. I’m gonna crash when we get back.Hard.”
“You could crash with me,” I offer. “I promise my bed is more comfortable than the one on the ship.”
“Is it?”
“It’s bigger too. Though, I think we won’t need to worry about that.”
His hand grabs mine. “I’m sure we won’t.”
I hide my smile in his shoulder and get comfortable. I’m able to drift off for a little while on the flight, but for the majority of it, I read the book for my book club.
This time, the romance doesn’t bug me. I enjoy it, for once.
It’s raining in Nashville when we land, and I can’t wait to get to Nate’s SUV and go home. This feels like the beginning of something incredible.
And I need it to start.
I only let go of Nate in the baggage claim so I can hunt down our suitcases. I’m so focused on getting out of here that I don’t notice my surroundings.
