Chapter 54
fifty-four
THE WATCHER
Bébhinn didn’t come home. He knew because he was sitting in his shitty little car on her street. Only her friends and her cousins from next door had shown their faces.
He had been waffling for hours, days, and even weeks on his next course. Praying for a sign. Anything.
He knew she wouldn’t pick him now. Perhaps, before Wales, but not now.
He’d let the love of his life slip through his fingers.
Still, he wanted one more chance. Just one more to finally tell her how he felt.
If she chose that other man, he would accept it like a man and move on, but he would regret not trying. For them. For their future.
He stared for two hours at Facebook Messenger, his finger hovering over her name. Finally, his fingers flew over his keyboard, pressing send before he could second-guess himself.
His eyes watered as he watched his phone screen for the receipt that she’d read his message.
This was it.
His last chance. If she saw his message.
He decided he would lay it all out for her. Give her all the reasons he would make the perfect partner for her. He knew her better than anyone else.
From their Rambler meetings and hikes, he knew her favorite food was crab. She despised milk, sunsets made her quiet and introspective, and she despised working out inside. Her eyes were her father’s, she hated blueberries and liked to sleep in tank tops with matching panties.
She never wanted to leave Dublin but dreamed of hiking all over the world.
He was hers, and she was his. They were a perfect match if only she would message him back so he could tell her.