Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Lucy
The smell of coffee hits first.
Then the silence.
Nash doesn’t hum like he usually does when he cooks. No playlists. No clanging pans. Just the soft scrape of a spatula and the low click of cabinet doors closing.
I linger at the bedroom door for a second, not sure if I’m ready to face him. Not because I regret anything we said last night—but because we left so much unsaid. And now we’re stuck in the quiet space after.
I thought we’d talk about the offer, about what it means for me, for Nash, for our future. But suddenly, I’m taking it. I’m going.
Something about that makes me incredibly sad.
When I enter the kitchen, Nash glances up from the stove, his hair still damp from the shower. He’s wearing that dark gray T-shirt that always fits a little too well. His expression softens when he sees me, but it doesn’t quite become a smile.
“I made French toast,” he says. “Seemed like a celebration was in order.”
“French toast is always a treat.” I slide onto a stool at the counter, the leather warm from the morning sun. “Thank you.”
He sets a plate in front of me and pours two mugs of coffee. We eat in silence for a minute. Not a bad silence. Just… cautious.
Finally, Nash leans back against the counter, cradling his mug, and asks, “Are you excited?”
I should lie.
Say yes. Smile big. Talk about how unreal it feels to get a second chance at a dream this size. That’s what I’d do with my parents.
But Nash deserves more.
I glance down at my plate. “I’m gonna miss you.”
His brow creases. Just a little. But it’s enough.
“I’ll miss you too,” he says, voice low. Steady. “But we’ll figure it out. This isn’t goodbye or the end. This was always inevitable. The goal behind this whole thing. I’m proud of you for achieving it.”
I nod, not trusting my voice.
Nash sets his coffee down and steps toward me. I meet him halfway, slipping into the hug like I’ve done a dozen times in the past few weeks—but this time, it’s drenched in goodbye. His arms wrap around my shoulders, his hand resting lightly at the base of my neck.
“I’ll take good care of your stuff,” he murmurs near my ear. “And it’ll all be here when the tour’s over. You’ll have a place to land.”
That shouldn’t make my eyes sting. But it does.
He pulls back, just enough to look at me. “You okay?”
I nod, blinking fast. “Yeah. Just tired. I guess I should call my agent. Tell Stella and Gabby. Gosh, my parents too.”
It’s all happening so fast, and oddly enough, I’m realizing there’s a part of me that thought it wouldn’t happen at all. Like if I stayed quiet long enough, avoided thinking about it, didn’t look the inevitable in the eyes, it would pass me by and leave me here in this blissed out state with Nash.
“Call your agent. Tell him the good news. Maybe ask Stella and Gabby to coffee or something. I’m sure they’ll want to celebrate with you too.”
I manage a half-smile. “You trying to get rid of me already?”
The look on Nash’s face is unreadable. “Just trying to make sure you don’t overthink yourself into oblivion.”
Holiday’s is warm and crowded, the scent of cinnamon rolls and espresso curling around every conversation. Stella’s already commandeered a booth by the window, waving wildly when I walk in. Gabby’s across from her, sipping an iced coffee. Violet lifts a hand and Simon grins when he sees me.
“So, what’s this oh so important news?” Stella asks, cocking her head as I slide in next to her.
“It’s good enough she had to tell us in person,” Gabby adds with a giggle. “I’m thinking this is big.”
“Oh, it’s big.” I offer them my best excited smile and Stella recoils.
“Okay. That’s the face you make when you’re talking to your parents. I assumed good big, but now I’m thinking bad big.”
I pause to smile up at Violet as she brings me a coffee, dropping a reassuring hand on my shoulder without a word. “My agent called yesterday,” I say when she’s gone. “My spot on the tour opened back up and they offered me the job again.”
Gabby freezes mid-sip. “That’s wonderful?”
Stella draws her brows together in concern. “That is definitely big.”
I nod. “I called this morning and accepted the offer. I leave in three days.”
“Wow.” Stella’s face falls even farther. “Three days. That’s fast.”
“Yeah. Things move quick in that world.”
They both go quiet, letting the information settle. I stare out the window, at the sunlight dripping through Spanish moss, and try to feel something like excitement.
“Are you… happy?” Gabby asks.
“I should be.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I exhale. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t look happy,” Stella says softly.
The lump in my throat rises again, unexpected and sharp. I take a sip of coffee, then admit, “If Nash had asked me to stay… I would have.”
Stella blinks. “But he didn’t?”
“No.” I shake my head. “He said he wanted me to take the job. That this was everything we’d been working for and he didn’t want to stand in the way of my dream.”
“And you believed that?” Gabby asks.
I look down at the swirl of foam in my cup. “I think he meant it. I think he wants what’s best for me. It’s just that he feels pretty damn good for me, too. I knew the bubble would pop. I think part of me hoped it wouldn’t.”
The silence that follows is heavier. But it feels good to say it. To finally admit it out loud.
Stella reaches for my hand and squeezes. “Anything can happen. Three days is a long time in romance novels.”
I smile, but it’s the kind that hurts.
“Too bad this isn’t a romance novel.”
Gabby leans back, raising her brows. “So how’d you guys leave it?”
“It’s all happening super fast so it’s kind of a work in progress, but it looks like we’re gonna try the long-distance thing. He’ll keep my stuff while I’m gone. My car, too. He even says I’ll have a place to land when the tour’s over. That the spare room is mine for as long as I want it.”
The girls exclaim with excitement.
“Yeah. I mean, with video chat and text and all that, it should be easy.”
All three of our heads nod and bob in agreement but the look on my friends’ faces, the feeling in my heart, say what we can’t…
This is the hardest best thing to ever happen to me.