Chapter 31 Plan A Derailed
Plan A Derailed
Harper
I wake up with a knot in my stomach that feels like it’s been there for weeks instead of hours, replaying Cole’s face from last night on an endless loop.
The way he looked at me when the truth came out.
I can hear Maddie moving around in the kitchen, the familiar sounds of coffee brewing and cabinets opening and closing with more force than necessary.
When I finally drag myself out of bed, I find her standing in front of the whiteboard staring at it. She’s got coffee in one hand, a dry erase marker in the other, and that determined expression that means she’s been awake for hours plotting our next move.
“Today is Plan A day,” she announces without turning around. “You’re going to find Cole, you’re going to own what you did, and you’re going to fix this.”
I pour myself coffee that tastes like burnt regret and stare at the neat lists on the whiteboard. Seeing my love life reduced to bullet points and strategic options makes everything feel even more surreal.
“Own it, no excuses,” I repeat, trying to convince myself I can actually do this. “Got it.”
Maddie turns to study me, taking in my rumpled pajamas and probably catastrophic hair situation. “First things first—you need to look like someone worth forgiving. Come on.”
She drags me to my closet and starts pulling out options. “We need neutral but disarming. Approachable but not trying too hard.”
I cycle through what feels like half my wardrobe before we settle on dark jeans, a soft gray sweater that Maddie insists “brings out my eyes,” and my favorite ankle boots. It’s casual enough to suggest I’m not trying to manipulate him with my appearance but put-together enough.
“And don’t forget eye contact,” Maddie adds, applying mascara to my lashes. “You have killer eyes when you use them properly. Make him remember why he liked you in the first place.”
I blink said killer eyes, but I file the advice away anyway. At this point, I’ll take all the help I can get.
Maddie runs through the plan one more time while I fidget with my car keys, “Go to the rink after practice ends. Wait until Cole’s leaving so you can catch him one-on-one—no teammates around to witness the carnage.
Keep it short, honest, and clear. Three main points: I didn’t know you two were friends, I’m sorry I hurt you, and I choose you. ”
“What if he doesn’t want to hear it?”
“Then you talk faster.”
I rehearse the speech in my head during the drive, running through different versions until I almost believe I won’t completely screw this up.
The words feel foreign in my mouth, too simple for the complexity of what I’ve done, but Maddie’s right—this isn’t the time for elaborate explanations or justifications.
Cole deserves the truth, delivered cleanly and without excuses.
I get to the rink early, parking in the lot where I should be able to see the players’ exit. My nerves are high as I watch the building, waiting for practice to end. I shouldn’t be here.
I drive away with tears in my eyes.
I end up at the same coffee shop where Cole took me on our first date. I order his black coffee and head back to the rink. I find his truck and put it on the hood and then I get into my car and drive across the lot. I can’t follow through with the plan. I––
The passenger door suddenly opens, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
Liam slides into the seat, bringing with him the scent of ice rink and that cologne that always makes my brain not think clearly. He’s still in his practice clothes, hair damp with sweat, and he looks at me with those storm-colored eyes that see too much.
“You here for him?” he asks, nodding toward Cole’s truck.
My pulse spikes so hard I start stuttering. “Liam—what? You can’t just—”
“You didn’t answer my texts,” he interrupts, his voice low but pointed, like an accusation.
“Because,” I shoot back, hating how breathless I sound. “Because… we can’t keep doing this.”
He leans back against the seat, studying me like he’s trying to memorize something important. The intensity of his gaze makes me feel exposed, like he can see right through all my carefully constructed defenses.
“Then why do you look at me like you’re lying to yourself?”
The question hits me right in the chest. My throat goes tight, and for a moment I can’t breathe properly. “Don’t do that. Not right now.”
“When?” he counters, shifting closer without seeming to move at all. “After you fix it with him? After you pretend I didn’t happen?”
The space inside my car suddenly feels impossibly small, filled with the heat radiating off his body and the weight of everything we’re not saying. “I’m here to talk to Cole. That’s it.”
“Yeah,” he says quietly, and there’s something almost sad in his voice. “That’s the problem.”
For a long moment, neither of us speaks. The silence stretches between us, heavy with all the history we’ve built in stolen moments and secret meetings. I can feel the warmth of his arm just inches away from mine, smell the faint trace of soap underneath the lingering scent of practice.
It makes me remember everything I’m trying to forget—the way he kisses like it’s a competition he’s determined to win, how his hands feel when they map my skin, the sound he makes when I whisper his name in the dark.
These are memories Cole will never have with me, experiences that belong only to Liam and me, and I hate myself for wanting them back even as I’m sitting here planning to choose someone else.
Liam opens the door, letting in a rush of cold air that makes me shiver. But he pauses before getting out, glancing back at me with an expression I can’t quite read.
“I’m capable of a relationship, Harp. You seemed to not want that so––”
“Liam,” I whisper.
“You choose him. I get it,” he says, like the words are being dragged out of him against his will. “He’s a good guy. Better than me, but if you want me, I’m willing to give it a try.”
Tears prick my eyes at the tone of his voice.
Shit.
He looks down. “He’s my best friend. Don’t screw him up more than you already have.”
And then he’s gone, walking toward his truck with that confident stride that never wavers, not looking back once. I watch him go, my heart hammering against my ribs, feeling like I’ve just survived some kind of storm.
I stay frozen in the driver’s seat, trying to process what just happened. My pulse is still thudding in my ears when I see Cole emerge from the rink a few minutes later. He looks relaxed, normal, completely unaware that I’m sitting here having an emotional breakdown in my car.
I should get out. I should walk over there and deliver the speech I’ve been practicing, own my mistakes and try to fix this mess. That was the plan. That’s why I’m here.
But I can’t bring myself to move. Not after Liam. Not with his words still echoing in my head and the memory of his presence still warming the passenger seat. How can I go to Cole and tell him I choose him when five minutes with Liam can still turn me inside out like this?
Cole sees the coffee and looks around. I duck as if I can hide the car from his view, but he doesn’t see me. And then he gets in his truck and drives away without ever knowing I was there.
I sit in the parking lot for another ten minutes, staring at the empty space where his truck was parked, feeling like I’ve failed before I even tried. Finally, I drive home, each mile feeling like a punch to the gut.
Maddie’s at her desk when I walk in, surrounded by takeout menus and wearing the expectant expression of someone waiting for good news. She looks up with hope that immediately dies when she sees my face.
“Please tell me you at least talked to him.”
I shake my head, dropping the car keys on the counter with a clatter that sounds too loud in the quiet apartment. “I bought him coffee, and then Liam…”
She sits up with wide eyes, leaning in. “What do you mean Liam?”
I sink into a chair at our small dining table, suddenly exhausted by the emotional whiplash of the last hour.
“He got in my car. Started talking about how I didn’t answer his texts, saying that he will give it a try if I choose him, telling me Cole’s a good guy…
” I trail off, not sure how to explain the way Liam can derail my entire thought process just by existing in the same space.
Maddie stares at me for a long moment, then curses under her breath with impressive creativity. “Then it’s time for Plan B.”
I nod, but I’m not really listening. Liam’s words keep playing on repeat in my head, but if you want me, I’m willing to give it a try. There was something in the way he said it like… I don’t know… like we would be good together.
Tears threaten my eyes.
This is so fucking hard. And this is self-inflicted. Then rage starts to burn my stomach. I clench my teeth so hard my jaw aches.
“I can’t do this.”
“Harper!” Maddie calls after me.
I whip around and say, “If you didn’t intervene, I wouldn’t be in this shitty position right now!”
She stands, brow furrowing. “Actually, Miss Little Stay-in-Bed-All-Day-And-Read-Books, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have met Liam or Cole!
And just because Liam is slithering his way back to you, don’t take it out on me!
Now sit down because you’re trying to win back the right guy before it’s too late. You blew Plan A. Now it’s Plan B.”
I stare at her, fuming.
She seethes. “Sit! Down!”