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I slid closer, taking her other hand. “It’s only for a year.”

“It’s thousands of miles away.”

“Twenty-one hundred miles flying time,” I informed her. “About five hours in the air.” I offered her a brave smile. “Not insurmountable.”

“With our schedules…”

“We could make it work, if we wanted.”

“I would have to leave next week.”

That made me pause. I scrubbed my face. “I see.”

“I have to find a place to live, get settled, and start the week after.” She stood and paced the room. “Leave Sue and the bakery. Leave Victoria. Everything familiar. Everything I know.” Her voice wavered. “Leave us.”

I watched her anxiety grow, and I sought to reassure her. “You would get used to a new place. You’d be busy. Sue will be fine—she can hire someone else to help out. She would have to once you left for Calgary anyway. And it’s not forever,” I added, that fact constantly repeating in my head. “It’s a year. We can survive a year.”

She stopped her pacing and met my eyes. “Can we?”

“If we both wanted that.”

“Is that what you want?” she whispered, tears in her eyes.

Our gazes locked and I stood, crossing over to her. “Maddy,” I murmured. “I’m not one to jump into things. But I’m falling for you. Totally. You make me so damn happy. It’s as if you wormed your way into my heart and healed that little ache I always carried.” I cupped her cheek. “The thought of you leaving wrecks me, but it’s an opportunity you have to take. A year from now, you’ll be back and able to work in the field you love. I’ll be here. Waiting.”

Her bottom lip quivered. “A year is a long time.”

“We’ll take it in small steps. A month at a time. I’ll come see you. We can call and text. FaceTime. Zoom.” I paused, my heart suddenly racing. “Unless you don’t want that?”

“I’m falling for you too, Matthew,” she replied. “That’s why this is so difficult.”

I felt relief and joy at her simple words. “No. It’s not hard. You have to do this. We’ll put our heads down. Work hard. Your degree is priority number one. I can be number two for a year.”

She smiled tearfully. “I think there’s a joke in there somewhere, but I’m too sad to make it.”

“Don’t be sad, baby. A year. One year and we can move on with our lives. Together.”

“I feel so torn,” she admitted.

I studied her and took a deep, bracing breath. “If you hadn’t met me, if I weren’t part of the equation, would you hesitate to accept this?” I swallowed. “Be honest.”

“No,” she replied after a moment. “I wouldn’t. I would accept it immediately.”

“Then you know what you have to do.” I wrapped my arms around her, and she burrowed her head into my chest.

“I’m scared,” she murmured, tears soaking into my shirt. “I’m excited, scared, worried, anxious, and already in planning mode.”

I swallowed down the pain at the thought of her leaving. The anxiety of knowing she would be gone, my parents would be gone. How I was feeling wasn’t as important as making sure she knew I understood why she had to do this, and that we would make it through. Because one thing I knew for sure was that Maddy was my person. I would get through this year for her, wait for her, and when she came back, we would start our life together. I knew it with a certainty I couldn’t explain. And I didn’t bother to try.

“That’s a lot of feelings, sweetheart,” I muttered. “I don’t want your head to explode, so how about we take it one step at a time?”

She looked up at me, her cheeks wet. “How did I get so lucky to find you?” Then her lip began to tremble again. “How am I going to do without you for a year?”

“We’ll figure it out,” I promised, although I was thinking the same thing. “We’ll figure it all out.”

“Stay,” she pleaded. “Stay with me tonight.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”