I buried my face in my hands. 揥ell, I didn抰 see that one coming.?
揌annah.?His voice cracked.
揧ou抮e the bad guy.?I stabbed a finger in the air. My voice shook. 揑 lied to you by not telling you about the store but you lied to me, too. And you made Veena feel like crap. She抯 a really nice lady.?I clenched my eyes closed and my hands made fists at my side. 揧ou抮e the one acting in a way that would disappoint Mom.?
I shouldn抰 have said it. I clapped a hand over my mouth. It was too far.
揑抦 not giving up the store,?I added, crossing my arms. 揑 won抰 do it.?
He clenched his eyes closed in pain. The giant flowers on the walls seemed to grow even bigger. The walls pressed toward me.
揑 have to go. I桰 need to get out of here.?The urge to hide, to disappear, rolled through me. My dad didn抰 say a word, he just stared at the floor as I backed away toward the door with my hands up, pushed the door open and strode out.
Outside, I leaned against the wall and buried my face in my hands. Tears spilled out and sobs shook in my chest. A second later, Wyatt pulled me into his arms and against his chest. I leaned into his warmth and let myself get tears all over his t-shirt, right there on the street.
揌e lied to me,?I croaked.
He smoothed my hair down with his hand. 揑 know.?His chin rested on the top of my head and his chest rose and fell as he sighed into me. 揑抦 so proud of how you handled yourself in there.?
A fraction of me was proud, too, but another part knew I could never go back to before, when things were comfortable with my dad. Our relationship had shifted under our feet. I didn抰 know what that would look like from now on. Maybe it was irreparable.
Wyatt leaned back to study my tear-stained, puffy face. 揇o you want to get some lunch or do you want to go home??
I shook my head, swallowing and wiping my face off. I didn抰 want to go to my place, and if I went back to Wyatt抯， I抎 spend the afternoon thinking about everything with my dad.
揕et抯 go for lunch.?I nodded. I was okay. I抎 deal with this later.
29
Wyatt
The wind lifted her hair while she stared out at the water from The Arbutus patio. I reached out and brushed her arm.
揧ou okay, bookworm??
She turned to me and nodded. 揑 think so.?
Her tofu bowl sat in front of her, getting cold. 揧ou barely touched your food.?
揑抣l eat it later.?
My heart clenched and I swallowed through a thick throat. Adrenaline still rattled in my veins from what had happened in the bookstore. He didn抰 see her. He didn抰 see what she had done, what she had fought against, how brave and strong she was.
But she held her ground. She stood tall and called him out.
揑抦 so proud of you,?I told her again.
She flicked a quick smile at me. It didn抰 reach her eyes. She sighed before she put her elbows on the table and rested her face in her hands. 揑 think I have to move out.?
My eyebrows lifted. 揧eah??
She lifted her head and nodded. 揧eah. It抯 weird to leave my dad but it抯 time. I can抰 live there forever.?
It was my opening. I had wanted to ask her all week and here it was, the perfect opportunity. My pulse picked up and I inhaled a deep breath.
揅ome with me.?I rested my gaze on her pretty face. I let myself get sucked into the brilliant blue-green of her eyes.
She frowned. 揥hat??
揅ome with me,?I repeated and reached to take her hand. 揕et抯 travel the world together. You抳e always wanted to, right? California, Australia, Hawaii, Thailand, there抯 a whole world out there that you抳e only read about in books.?My heart squeezed. 揑 want you to come with me. I want you by my side.?
I stroked the back of her hand while she blinked at me.
揧ou can run the store remotely now that you have Liya and Casey,?I continued. 揧ou can do the social media from anywhere. Same with ordering and payroll.?
Her lips parted at my words and her eyebrows lifted. My heart rattled up into my throat. Fuck, those eyes. I wanted to look into those eyes every day forever.
I swallowed and squeezed her hand. 揑抦 not ready for this to be over. Think of all the places we抣l go. Think of what we抣l see. There抯 so much more than Queen抯 Cove, bookworm.?
The words sat below my vocal cords. Those three words that would change everything. I was always telling her to be brave, and here I was, playing chicken with myself.
I opened my mouth to say it but she pulled her hand from under mine, clasped them in her lap, before one of them played with the ends of her hair. A frown grew on her face as she glanced from me to the water to her untouched food, then back up to me. Her throat worked and she shook her head with a wince. 揑 can抰。？
My heart stopped. 揥hat??