“Max, there is no job like this in the world. This is bigger than a college scholarship or a summer program. You’re passing up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“Happily.”
“Well, I don’t want you to.”
She may as well have shoved me. “There are compromises in every relationship, and I’m—”
“I don’t want you to compromise.”
“I’m willing to do this. To put in the work. But you don’t even want to try?”
“Try what? Try for phone call dates we can’t even promise to keep? For quick weekend trips where one of us is too jet-lagged to do anything and then has to turn back around two days later? For a social life and a career while dating someone thousands of miles away?” Tears spill down her cheeks, and she smears them with an angry swipe. “I can’t step away from The Mirage whenever the mood strikes, so you’d be the one doing most of the travel.”
“I’d love that.”
“I’d be holding you back from your life, Max. You know it.”
“You are my life.” Frustration surges through me, because she’s doing this again—making a choice for me rather thanwithme. “I’m staying.”
She looks at me like I told her I can walk through walls. “You can’t do that.”
“I can. Please, just—forget Tate. I want to stay.”
“Why?”
“Because—” I almost say,because I love you, but Daisy’s not one for cliché declarations. I run my thumb across her cheek. “Because we’re each other’s.” We said so. “And because I want to be with you.”
Her hand slips out of mine, and I lose my balance at the loss. “You’re always going to wonder what that life would have been like, and you’ll hate me for taking that away from you.”
“I don’t want that life.”
“Three months ago you did.”
“And a lot has changed in three months, Daze. A lot has changed since I was younger, too. I always thought I wanted toleave Harlow, leave my parents, and follow my passion. But my passionishere. It’s you.”
Daisy’s chin quivers, and she shakes her head. The walls I spent this entire summer tearing down have gone back up.
“Don’t do this.” I point to the barn. “This pop-up is the most incredible thing I’ve ever done. I poured myself into this project.”
“Exactly.” Daisy holds my head in her hands, forcing eye contact. “You are amazing. So much so that some hotshot from fucking London flew here to offer you a job. Your passion is not just for Harlow, but it’s for art all around the world. Mine anchors me here, but yours can take you anywhere. And it should.”
Nausea roils in my stomach. I press my forehead to hers, wishing with all my might that if I hold her a little closer, if I plead with her a little more, she’ll change her stubborn mind.
“What’re you saying?” I croak.
“I think you’d be a fool not to go.”
My blood runs cold. I release her, backing up a few steps and rubbing my eyes to clear my vision. “How am I never good enough for you?”
“You’re too good, Max. Too good for this town, and too good for me.”
That’s the last thing I want to hear—that she’ll sacrifice what we could be for me. I turn the corner, and her pleas get eaten in the breeze.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Max, 18 Years Old
Heyyy, I know you’ve been busy with school and all, and I just wanted to say I totally get it. I got this internship at a stable on the park border, and between that and classes, I’ve been really overwhelmed. I think it’s better if we take some space for a while. I have to figure some things out on my own, and the whole long-distance friend thing is distracting. Probably even more for you with everything you have going on. It’s for the best.
