Thirty-four
Sadie
M y phone buzzes on the nightstand.
I almost don’t check it. I’ve been staring at the same water ring on the coffee table for the last hour, lost in a fog of sadness and regret. But the screen lights up again, and Beckett’s name flashes across the top.
I scan his text and blink. Then blink again.
A breath catches in my throat as I read it three more times.
He talked to Tarryn for me. He fought for me. After everything I did, —after I walked away from him, got fired, from all of it, he still went out of his way to make this happen. They’re going to pay me for the week I’ve missed and for next week as well.
I press my palm over my heart like it’ll stop my heart from bursting wide open. I don’t deserve this kindness. But God, I needed it.
The door rattles, and I look up just as Ginny tiptoes in, barefoot and wearing the same clothes she had on last night.
Her hair is a tousled mess, and she smells faintly of bourbon and stale perfume.
She pauses when she sees me, slumped on the couch, puffy-eyed, the bucket-list notebook clutched in my lap.
Her smile drops instantly. “Sadie?”
I don’t even try to hold it in. “Rosie passed away last night.”
Ginny crosses the room in two strides, crashing down beside me and wrapping her arms around me. “No—no, no, no.” Her voice cracks. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”
I bury my face in her shoulder, and we cry together. It’s messy and wet and loud, but it feels good to know I’m not drowning alone.
Finally, she asks, “How did you find out?”
“Beckett came by this morning.”
She lets out a shaky breath. “How was he?”
“Wrecked,” I whisper. “Trying to hide it, but it was written all over him.”
Ginny nods. “I’m so glad he found you to tell you. I can’t believe she’s gone.” She wipes under her eyes. “At least I got to apologize to Rosie. I never should’ve taken off the way I did.”
“She forgave you. You have to know that.”
“We shouldn’t have had to say goodbye,” she snaps, voice tight. “She was Rosie. She deserved more than this broken system that couldn’t find her a damn heart.”
I nod, pressing the notebook into her hands. “She gave me this. Her bucket list.”
Ginny flips it open, and we fall quiet as we read the scrawled notes in Rosie’s bubbly handwriting.
“Disneyland,” she reads. “Drive through Tuscany. Kiss someone under the Eiffel Tower. See the pyramids. God, she wanted to live.”
“It’s not fair,” I whisper.
Ginny shuts the notebook. “So what now? ”
I take a deep breath. “I’m going to do them. Every last one. Even if it takes me my whole life.”
She smiles through her tears, eyes still glassy. “I’m coming with you.”
I let out a watery laugh. “You sure? It’s going to involve a lot of weird foods and foreign toilets.”
“I’m in,” she says without hesitation.
“Okay, but…first things first. Why are you doing the walk of shame?”
She flops back and grins like the cat that got the cream. “Because I had a night.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Do I know the knight?”
Ginny looks suddenly interested in the bucket-list notebook again. “Mmm…maybe.”
“Oh no, no way,” I say, sitting up. “You’re not sliding past this one. Spill.”
She shrugs, her cheeks going a little pink.
“We’ve known each other since we were younger.
I always had a thing for him, but he was older.
I’ve run into him a few times, and there was some chemistry, and then last night I was out with my cousin after work at Micro Bar and Bites.
We played pool, darts…talked. It was fun. ”
“Fun that ended in sex?”
“Incredible sex,” she corrects with a dreamy sigh. “But don’t get excited. The timing is off. I just ended my engagement, and he’s… Well, let’s say he’s not exactly known for being into relationships. So we’re aligned. No strings, no stress.”
I narrow my eyes. “You’re being suspiciously vague.”
She stands, stretching. “It was one night. A good night. Let’s leave it there.”
Before I can press her, my phone rings. Caleb .
Ginny lifts a brow. “Duty calls. I’m going to shower and get to work. I’ll have the guest room picked up tonight, promise.” She waves and disappears down the hall.
I press the phone to my ear. “Hey, you.”
“Hey.” Caleb’s voice is warm and familiar, and hearing it brings a rush of emotions to the surface. “You moved out of Beckett’s? How are you doing?”
“I’m okay,” I say, then pause. “Actually…no. Rosie passed away last night.”
There’s silence on the line. A beat. Then a soft, stunned, “Shit, Sadie. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah.” My throat tightens again. “Beckett came by this morning to tell me. He gave me her bucket-list notebook.”
“Her bucket list?” His voice cracks just a little.
“We were going to do it together. All these crazy, beautiful things she dreamed about. I’m going to do them for her. Every single one.”
He exhales hard. “You’ve got a free place to stay when you get to London.”
I smile. “Thank you. I mean that.”
“Where are you staying now?” he asks after a moment. “You said with Ginny? I didn’t think she was in town.”
“She’s back,” I tell him. “We’re at the cottage on Black Bear Vineyard.”
He groans. “God, every memory I have of the two of you ends with me getting a call from someone because you were in trouble.”
“We’ve matured,” I say, though I laugh. “Mostly.”
He pauses, then asks softly, “What about Alex? Is he in the picture at all?”
I can’t tell him about the threats and the drama. He’s too far away, and I don’t want him to worry. “He’s been quiet.”
“I would feel so much better if you were still living in Beckett’s guest room. You know I don’t like you hanging around the Dempseys.”
I roll my eyes, but only because he can’t see me. “Your view of the Dempseys is shaded by the Paradises. We are not a member of either family, and it’s really not much of an issue anymore.”
He snorts. “Let me know when you pull your head out of the sand.”
“I love my job at Paradise Hill, and Beckett knows I’m living here.”
“Okay, I’ll drop it, but I’ll always be worried about your safety.”
“Thank you. It’s good to know that.”
“I also worry about Beckett. How is he taking Rosie’s loss?”
“He’s strong,” I say. “Too strong, maybe.”
Caleb sighs. “He takes losing a patient hard. Like, really hard. Doesn’t show it to anyone, but it eats him up.”
I hate hearing that.
“I know you’re figuring stuff out,” he adds, “but if you could mend things with him…I’d feel a whole lot better knowing you were safe. And I’m sure he could use a friend right now as well.”
He has no idea what safe looked like when I was doing mattress aerobics with Beckett and not staying alone in his guest room, but I don’t want to go there. “I’m fine. Really. Ginny’s letting me stay here for now. It’s peaceful.”
“You don’t want to talk about Beckett, do you?”
“Not really,” I admit. “Tell me about you. Are you seeing anyone?”
He clears his throat. “I met someone. She’s nice. But it’s nothing serious.”
“Are you getting naked together?”
“Sadie!” He barks out a laugh. “I don’t know that I feel comfortable answering that.”
I grin. “I’ll take that as a yes. Just be kind. And honest. Okay?”
“I will,” he promises.
We talk a little longer before he says, “I’m due for a vacation.”
“Come home,” I say immediately. “I miss you.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Bring the new girlfriend.”
He laughs . “You’re insufferable.”
“That’s why you love me.”
He chuckles again, and we say our goodbyes. When the call ends, I set my phone down and curl my legs under me on the couch.
I miss him. I miss Rosie. But my grief feels manageable. There’s a lot happening in my world, yet now I don’t feel quite so lost.