Silas looked down at the flowers that were still in his hand. “I’m going to get her before it’s too late.”
Miriam
The last timeMiriam had been inside an airport was to surprise Silas after a big win two years ago. She’d shown up with green and black balloons and a sign saying she was his biggest fan.
Now, she was trying to get far away from him.
She tugged at her pencil skirt that had ridden up on the drive to Tampa and adjusted her purse over her shoulder. Other than the small shoulder bag that held the usual necessities, her hands were empty. There was no need for anything else. The trip was a quick flight up that morning, the interview with the MLS team, maybe lunch, then an evening flight back.
She’d be back to Florida in no time—possibly with a new job title.
Now that she was at the airport, the thought caused a pit to form in Miriam’s stomach. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to leave Florida. She’d been born and raised here. The heat, humidity, and lack of elevation were comforting in a strange way.
Moving to South Carolina would be starting over completely. Not only would there be a new job to learn, but she’d also have a whole new city to learn to navigate. Without her friends, she’d be all by herself to find the best place to get tacos or a new outfit or get her hair done.
The idea of being alone terrified her, and it suddenly became difficult to catch her breath. She hadn’t even made it past security and to the terminals, and she was already getting cold feet.
She sat down in a seat beneath the screens displaying the arrivals and departures for the day.In through your nose, out through your mouth.It took several tries before she started breathing normally. This was getting ridiculous. An interview didn’t mean that she was going to get the job and getting the job didn’t mean she had to take it.
Wouldshe take it if the general manager offered it to her? Miriam still wasn’t sure.
The night before, she’d lain in bed tossing and turning well past midnight as she went over the pros and cons in her head. In the end, the answer still wasn’t obvious.
There were lots of reasons to take a job in South Carolina, but there were just as many reasons to stay. Unfortunately, one of the biggest ones was Silas. As much as Miriam had tried to convince Allie—and herself—that she was over that frustrating man once and for all, she wasn’t.
Miriam was still very much in love with him.
The image of their last moment together was etched in her memory. The way his face had transformed from pure joy after their kiss to pure agony when she’d told him that things were over between them. It broke her heart.
So much so she could almost hear him saying her name.
“Miriam!”
Her eyes snapped toward the very real sound of Silas’ voice. He stood at the entrance of the airport lobby, his eyes searching the giant room. Miriam’s heart beat frantically in her chest. Silas was here. She wasn’t sure what he was doing here—how he even knew she was at the airport—but he looked panic-stricken.
He quickly walked through the lobby searching every corner, every bench.
Miriam wanted to slide down in her seat and hide, but she knew if she didn’t make her presence known to him—and fast—he was going to end up tackled to the ground by security for acting like a crazy person.
She stood and lifted her hand. “Over here.”
He turned to face her. His eyes widened before he jogged over. He stopped just in front of her. “Thank goodness. I’m not too late.”
Though she had a sinking suspicion what it was, she asked anyway. “Too late for what?”
He held up a mangled looking bouquet of flowers that were missing quite a few petals. “To stop you from getting on that plane.”
“Silas.”
“Just hear me out.” His eyes pleaded with her to listen to what he had to say.
She bit her bottom lip. “How did you even know I was here?”
“Allie told me.”
Are you freaking kidding me?
Miriam couldn’t believe her best friend had sold her out. They were going to have a nice, long talk when she got back. She shook her head in disbelief. When she did, a man in uniform caught her eye. He had one hand on his utility belt as he slowly walked over to where they stood.
