“Kind of,” she admits. “But when you look in the bag, you’ll understand why.”
She thrusts it toward me, and my jaw slackens the second I look inside.
No way.
I pull out the box, letting the bag drop to the floor as I turn it over in my hands, half expecting it to disappear if I blink. “The remote-controlled dinosaur,” I mutter. “Holy shit. How did you get this? It’s sold out everywhere.”
She shrugs, a small smile playing about her mouth. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
I bark out a laugh, still staring at the thing like it’s made of gold. “Mike,” I call over my shoulder. “Kiki got the dinosaur.”
Mike glances up from across the room, squinting at me. “What? Dinosaur?”
“For Theo,” I add.
He gives me a thumbs-up, still confused as hell. “Yeah, I kind of figured it wasn’t for you.”
“Right,” I grumble, rolling my eyes. I’ve been talking about this thing for weeks, and apparently my buddy hasn’t bothered to listen to a word.
But Kiki did.
I set the dinosaur down on my makeshift desk and pull Kiki into a hug before I can think better of it. At first, she stiffens against me, but then… she melts.
Just like that, she’s in my arms again.
I tuck my face against her hair and breathe in her familiar scent.
For a brief instant, we’re right back at the beginning. Before she walked away. Before she broke me.
But we’re not those people anymore. And the truth is, I don’t know what Kiki ever felt for me, or if our entire relationship was nothing more than a dream concocted in my mind.
When I step back, her fingers catch in my shirt, tightening like she doesn’t want to let go.
That alone almost does me in.
But something crashes in the other room, followed by a string of curses, and it cuts through our moment like a chainsaw.
We pull apart, and I pick up the box again, still not believing I’m holding the thing. “I’m shocked you remembered me telling you about this.”
“I remember everything about you and Theo,” Kiki replies.
Why say something like that, Kiki?
But I force my attention back to the dinosaur and remind myself of the truth.
She loves Theo. She just doesn’t love me. Andthathas to be enough.
She runs a finger along the edge of the packaging. “I hope he enjoys it.”
But the elation doesn’t last.
God, I hate this, but it has to be done.
I tuck the dinosaur back into the bag and slide it toward her.
Her brows knit together. “What are you doing?”
I shove my hands into my pockets and rock back on my heels. “The thing is, Theo only stopped asking about you a week ago.”
