Chapter 23
Sophie had managed to clear out every last customer. No easy feat on a Friday night, but desperation made her persuasive. Or terrifying. Either way, it had worked. The last straggler was nursing a pint and a half-eaten burger and fries like he was settling in for the night. Not on her watch.
“Time to go. We’re closed now!” she snapped, grabbing his plate before he could protest.
“Hey! I wasn’t done with that?—”
She dumped the rest of his burger and fries into a takeout container, marched to the door, and flung it open. “Your table’s waiting. Get it while it’s hot!” She dropped the box onto the picnic table outside and waved him out with a forced smile.
The second his foot crossed the threshold, she slammed the door and locked it behind him. Her shoulders squared.
Okay. Showtime.
This might get ugly.
She took a deep breath and called out, “Hey, Keefe? You busy?”
Silence.
She’d expected that. He wasn’t going to make this easy. She tried again, softening her tone. “Keefe? Got a minute?”
Still no answer.
Great . Why did he always have to sulk like a bloody child?
She stormed into the kitchen and barked, “Keefe!”
“What the fuck do you want?” he shot back, not looking up from the stove.
It was the most he’d said to her in days. She considered it progress.
“Come out front for a minute, would you?”
“Fuck off, would you?”
Her hand flew to her hip, then dropped. She deserved that. Every last word of it. Still, this was bigger than pride.
“Please,” she said, her voice quieter now, stripped of its usual fight. “Just... come into the dining room?”
Still no eye contact. Just the steady clatter of a spatula and a wall he wasn’t ready to drop.
Still, he didn’t look at her. “Let me guess. There’s some pretty stranger you think I should flirt with. Maybe take her some food, take her home, screw her brains out so I can forget Gwen? Hard pass.”
Oof. That landed like a punch. But again, she’d earned it. Sophie sighed, marched over, grabbed his ear like they were ten years old again, and hauled him toward the dining room.
“Shut up and get your ass out here!”
“OW! Jesus, Soph—” Keefe protested, hurling insults the whole way—impressively without repeating a single one. But then he saw her.
Gwen.
She stood quietly near the candlelit table, wearing a soft jumper and jeans, her hands clasped tightly in front of her like they were the only thing keeping her from falling apart. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She didn’t say a word.
Keefe froze like the wind had been knocked out of him. Sophie let go of his ear and stepped back.
“What’s going on?” he whispered, as though afraid saying it too loudly might scare Gwen off.
Sophie nodded toward Gwen. “She’s here because I asked her to be. So don’t waste it.”
Keefe looked from his sister to the woman standing in front of him, stunned speechless.
Sophie turned to leave, blinking fast.
“Sophie,” Keefe called after her, his voice breaking.
She looked back.
“Thanks, sis.”
She gave him a watery smile. “I’m really sorry, Keefe. I mean it. Now knock it off before you make me cry.” She sniffed and added, “I love you, you big jerk.”
And then, giving them the space they needed, she walked away.
He gave her a quick hug, then turned and hurried to Gwen.
The dining room was quiet—just one table lit with a single candle. Its flame flickered, casting golden light over Gwen’s face. It reflected in her eyes, soft and warm.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi. Where is everyone?”
“Sophie threw them out. Put up the closed sign.”
He nodded slowly, a wry smile tugging at his mouth. “How are you?”
“You mean since I broke your heart?”
He didn’t answer right away. He just looked at her—like he wasn’t quite sure she was real. Like he’d been living half-alive since the day she left, and now he wasn’t sure if this was a dream he’d wake up from.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “That’s what I mean.”
Gwen swallowed hard. “I didn’t leave because I stopped loving you.”
“I know.” His voice cracked, and he hated that it did. “But you still left.”
“Because Sophie hated me. And I couldn’t stand being the reason there was tension between you two. I know how close you are. I felt like I was splitting you in half just by being here.”
Keefe’s jaw tensed, but his eyes stayed locked on hers. “You weren’t. You didn’t. Sophie was angry, yeah. But you weren’t the one driving the wedge. That was her choice, not yours.”
“It didn’t feel that way.”
He stepped closer. “You left to protect something that didn’t need protecting. We’re adults, Gwen. Sophie and I... we’ll always be siblings. But you? You’re more than that. You’re the person I want a life with. And I needed you to fight for us, not walk away.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “I didn’t think I had the right.”
“You always did.”
Her voice was quiet, but steady. “I didn’t know what else to do. It felt like everything I touched was falling apart and I thought stepping away was the least selfish thing I could do.”
“It wasn’t,” he said, taking a step closer. “But I know why you did it.”
Her chin trembled but she held her tears back. “I missed you.”
“I’ve been missing you every damn second.”
Another step. They were inches apart now.
“Are we... are we really doing this?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
Keefe reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering against her cheek. “If you’re here to say goodbye again, I can’t do it. But if you’re here to stay—just say the word and I’ll never let you walk out again.”
Her eyes filled, but the tears didn’t fall. She smiled instead—slow and sure. “I’m here to stay.” Now her tears fell.
That was all it took.
He pulled her into him and kissed her—firm, desperate, and full of everything he hadn’t been able to say since the day she left. She melted into him like she never wanted to be anywhere else. And she didn’t—not now, not ever again.
When they finally pulled apart, breathless and grinning like idiots, Gwen tilted her head.
“So... does this mean I get a burger? I heard something about you serving me food then taking me home.”
Keefe barked a laugh. “You want food now?”
“Hey, emotions are exhausting. I need chips.”
He laughed and kissed her again—slow at first, like he was afraid she’d vanish if he moved too fast. But when she leaned into him, when her hands gripped his shirt, the kiss deepened. All the pain, the silence, the longing—was poured into that kiss. And for a moment, time stopped.
When they finally pulled apart, their foreheads resting together, both of them breathless, Gwen gave a shaky laugh.
“So, do we get to start over now? Surrender to our fate?”
Keefe smiled, brushing her damp cheek with his thumb. “Not starting over. Just picking back up right where we left off.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure about you.” He paused, eyes locked on hers. “Always have been.”