Page 17

“Ass,” I mutter, turning away from him to hide my smile.

“Hey, on a serious note though, there’s something I want to give you.”

I turn back to him and he holds out an envelope full of something. Taking it from him, I open it and gasp.

“Theo, what is this?”

“It’s half of the money Mom gave me.”

I thrust the envelope back toward him. “I can’t take this.”

He wraps his large hands around mine, stopping me from dropping the cash in his lap. “Please, sis. I need you to take it.”

“It’s your money, Theo. I can’t.”

“I have a great job, Tate, and I make more than enough money. Let me do this for you, please. There are going to be expenses for the house and I want you to finally be able to go to school. Not to mention, you could also use a car of your own.”

“All of which I could do with the money Mom left me.”

He meets my eyes and from just one look, I know he’s not going to drop this. No doubt we could fight about it all day if we wanted to but I only have a few more minutes with him and I don’t want to waste them. Sighing, I take the envelope and stuff it into my purse. I’ll take it for now and maybe once he gets out of the Navy I can give it back to him.

“This is not over, Carter,” I warn him and he laughs.

“Go buy a car so I don’t have to worry about you walking home at night.”

“I’ll think about it.” Glancing at the clock, I sigh. “I’ve got to get in there.”

He nods and we both climb out of the car, meeting at the front of the hood as he wraps me up in a hug.

“Text me as soon as you get back to Charleston,” I instruct him and he nods.

“I will, I promise.”

“And come back home as soon as you can.”

He pulls away, nodding. “You got it, T.”

“Okay,” I whisper, tears burning my eyes again as I bite my lip.

“Bye.”

“I love you. Don’t forget to text me.”

He nods. “Love you, too.”

Crossing my arms over my stomach, I watch him as he rounds the car and slips behind the wheel before backing up. As he puts the car in drive, he holds his hand up in a wave and I repeat the motion, feeling choked up again. He pulls out of the parking lot and I wipe away a tear, missing him immensely already. This is going to be so much harder than I thought. The idea that I have no one here is so devastating that I know I have to force it to the back of my mind for now. I have an eight-hour shift to work and I can’t be crying in the customer’s coffee. There are still a few minutes before my shift starts so I lean back against the building and will myself to calm down before squaring my shoulders and turning toward the door.

As soon as I walk in, it’s like I never left and I hear someone squeal my name before my friend, Mia, is bolting out from behind the counter and barreling toward me. She crashes into me and I laugh as I wrap my arms around her.

“Hey, Mia.”

“Oh my god, I’m so happy you’re back. I missed you so much. How are you doing?”

I release her and hold my hands up. “Whoa, girl. Take a breath.”

“Sorry,” she breathes. “I’m just so excited.”

“I gathered.”