I put my hands on the outsides of her arms tenderly. “It’s really okay, Annie. You don’t have to explain. I understand. You’ve got to do this for you.”
She continues, though. “Brandon and I have been texting a little this week, and he asked me out for today. I didn’t tell you even though I’ve wanted to because I was scared it would push you away, and, selfishly, I don’t want you to go away yet.”
I breathe out as I gently grip her biceps and tug her a little closer. “If there’s anything I understand fully, Annie, it’s acting out of selfish need.”
She gives a sad smile. A brave smile. “He seems nice, though. We have the same goals. I had to say yes, Will. There was no reason for me not to.”
I can’t even get upset at that—because she’s right. I’m not a reason. I told her up front I’d never be a reason. Whatever strange connection we have is a blip on the timeline of our lives. An interlude we’ll look back on fondly. And soon, hopefully, I’ll get back to real life, and Rome and Annie and everyone in this absurd town will only be memories.
I force a smile that I don’t feel at all. “I’m happy for you, Annie. Really. And this is great timing, actually, because I’ve had something I’ve needed to tell you too.” I pause. “I’m leaving soon.”
She frowns lightly. “What?”
“After the wedding.” I try to say this as casually and unattached as possible. “Don’t worry—you’re not pushing me away. And it’s not because of your date with Brandon.” The lie slips out easily. “My boss approved my reassignment to Washington, D.C., and I accepted.”
I have to look everywhere but her face. If I look into her eyes, she’ll see the truth. Amelia called my boss yesterday and said she was okay to be reassigned a new EPA （which feels like suspicious timing）， and so the text I read this morning confirmed I’ve been cleared to move on to a new job after the wedding.
The thing is, I haven’t actually said yes yet. I had planned to respond to Liv and ask if I could have a few days to think about it because I might want to stay in Rome after all. But this—Annie’s impending date—is exactly the kick in the ass I needed to remember that whatever is going on between us is fleeting. I shouldn’t change my entire life plans for a person I only met a few weeks ago. I’m following my own advice to Ethan and pumping the brakes. Or…I guess a more accurate metaphor would be flooring the gas and getting out of here.
“But…Amelia doesn’t want a different bodyguard.”
“Executive protection agent,” I say weakly. “And she told my boss she was okay with it. It’s going to be hard to move on from…her, but it’s time. I need a faster-paced life. I can’t stay here any longer or…” Or I’ll start wanting things that scare me. Or I’ll contemplate doing the things I’ve promised I never would. “I’ll get bored.”
In the movies, this is where Annie would feel hurt. It was meant to wound. To cut us both so I’ll stop having these damn feelings and to show her that I’m not the good guy she wants. I’ve got a messed-up past and a messed-up heart that I keep clenched tightly in my fist along with a string of women throughout the country who will attest to the fact that I’ll never release it to anyone else.
But this is Annie. And she does nothing as anticipated.
Her smile tilts into one that’s so damn close to pity that my teeth clench. No one—and I mean no one—has ever been able to read me. But Annie does. It’s like she has the subtitles turned on for my brain, and she doesn’t feel hurt. She feels sad for me that I’m standing here and lying to her.
She looks down and clears her throat. “Okay, well good. I’m happy for you, Will.”
“And I’m happy for you.”
We’re all happy, happy people!
After a painful silence, I finally ask, “So where are you going on your date?”
She narrows her eyes. “Why are you asking?”
I pull an offended look. “What do you mean, why? I’m your dating coach. It’s my job to know everything about your dating life. This has nothing to do with the”—I lean in and lower my voice like I’m sharing a huge secret—“feelings we talked about earlier. Those are officially going back in the box where they belong from here on out.”
She laughs quietly. “Well, if you must know, we’re going to his nephew’s Little League game.”