Chapter 29
When Ty left LA, there were a lot of things he knew he was leaving behind for good. His apartment’s terrace, which had the perfect afternoon lighting. His early morning surf club. The fusilli alla vodka at Jon Vinny’s. And that girl from the mailroom who he couldn’t get out of his head.
Maggie Monroe.
He had never felt that way around a girl before, that day he first met her. She sat next to him on a stool, listened as he worked. She took notes on every word he said. It wasn’t the attention that he liked, though—who wouldn’t like to be on the receiving end of her perfect stare? There was just something about her energy. She had a sharp tongue and fast brain. She smelled like flowers and made him smile the entire afternoon.
From then on, he did anything he could to see her. Whenever he needed a floater to cover his desk, he put in a request with HR for Maggie. He made up that his boss had requested her, that Maggie was the only one trained to know Ava’s quirks. But really, Ty craved the look on her face when she rounded the corner of the third-floor kitchen. Her brows were furrowed, and she was so serious but so happy at the same time. He cherished the headset handoff, when sometimes their fingers would graze.
Ty would laugh at night when she’d pop up again in his brain. His phone would ping with texts from other girls at the agency who wanted to grab drinks after work or inquire about his Saturday night plans. He knew he was handsome, he knew he was smart. And he knew Maggie didn’t like him like that one bit. He would shake his head. Of course, I fall for the girl who doesn’t even notice me.
New York called to Ty like a song he couldn’t get out of his head. His family was there, most of his friends. He could still work in documentaries, he could still surf, though only a few months of the year, all the way out at Rockaway Beach.
The only thing he’d really miss was Maggie.
And then he saw her. In Ocean Beach, of all places. The beach, then the ferry. He kept seeing her.
He never wanted to not see her again.
After Maggie told him the truth about Kurt, when he realized how awfully she had been treated, Ty went home and cried. He was devastated to realize what he had done, who he had inadvertently connected Maggie to. Where he’d guided her down the wrong path.
How would she ever forgive him now? How could she ever look at him again?
Sitting on the corner of Bungalow Lane, the sounds of Liz and Cam’s party still swirling in his ears, Ty realized it was over. Her friends had been nice to invite him. It was sweet of them to think that maybe he had a chance. They said it was impossible not to notice how Maggie brightened whenever he texted her. They wanted to help her end the summer in a perfect way.
Ty knew they were wrong. He’d probably never see her again.
Then he smelled flowers.
In his vision, a figure bloomed up like a rose. Maggie was there, like a ghost or a hallucination. A dream. She was running.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Ty asked, thinking maybe she was being chased or she was scared. How else to explain this girl sprinting with that crazed look on her face?
Instead, she ran right up to him. And she kissed him.
Before Ty’s brain could catch up, he found that his mouth was kissing her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, he pulled her in tight.
“Hi,” he said, when their mouths broke apart.
“Hi yourself.” Maggie smiled.
“Sorry I showed up unannounced, back there. I didn’t want to startle you.”
“I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised, considering you practically followed me around all summer long,” she teased. “Popping up whenever I least expected.”
“This time, I had an actual invite. Your roommates.”
“I should have known.” She grinned, and Ty swore he felt goose bumps on his skin.
“Sorry I left,” he continued. “I thought you and Mac—”
Maggie displaced his worries with a simple shake of her head. “I’m glad I found you, then.”
“You’re a pretty fast runner.”
“Well, you’re a pretty handsome finish line.”
“Oh, Maggie,” he marveled, taking in the sight of her. The scent again, of flowers and the sea. “Things are only getting started.”