Page 155 of Close Knit

Yes.

Daphne

See you then.

I rack my brain, trying to remember if I mentioned my bench to him. Regardless, he’s coming. That gives me nineteen days to figure out what I’m going to do.

I miss him.

But he walked out of my life without much of an explanation. I understand he was hurt, but I need to know that he won’t run every time there is a rough patch.

He’s actually trying to heal, though. I mean, announcing to everyone that he’s battling mental health issues and launching a foundation? Those are pretty big moves. Maybe that’s what he needed to do to feel like he was enough?

After all of this, I owe him—and myself—a chance to hear him out.

Chapter 45

Daphne

May1

Lyndhurst FC’s Birds of a Feather Foundation Raises a Groundbreaking £2.5 Million One Week After Inception

May3

More FC Players Speak Out About Mental Health

May5

Cameron Hastings Files Charges Against Charlie Lewis, Leading to Shocking Suspension Right Before Lyndhurst and Overton Final!

May11

Daphne Quinn Hosts Second Knitting Retreat in San Francisco, Donating Half the Revenue to The Kindness Coalition

At the endof the pier, a man sits alone on my green bench. His back is to me, but there’s something achingly familiar about the way his shoulders hunch and the lazy waves in his hair. The setting sun splashes the sky with pinks and purples, casting a golden glow around him. The sound of waves crashing and seals barking does nothing to calm the milkshake of excitement and fear bubbling inside me.

Be big.You’ve got this.

The boardwalk planks groan under my hesitant steps, each creak matching my jittery nerves. Kids’ laughter fizzes like soda, and tourists snap photos. None of that matters—my world has zoomed in on just him. Cameron must sense me; he turns, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that sends a delicious shiver down my spine. Then he’s up, and suddenly it’s like the universe is holding its breath.

He’s wearing the red sweater I knitted for him, paired with his usual dark jeans and sneakers. His small, adorable smile is infuriatingly disarming, especially considering the serious conversation we need to have. There’s an undeniable confidence in his stride as he walks toward me.

Something’s different, but I can’t put my finger on what.

Suddenly, my tongue feels like it’s been replaced with a sandbag, and my throat tightens. All the words I carefully rehearsed over the past nineteen days vanish into thin air.

He stops just inches away. He opens his mouth, hesitates, and then says, “I love you.”

“Oh.” Of all the things he could have said, I never expected those three words. My eyes blink rapidly, my brain scrambling to process his declaration.

“Sorry, that’s not how I planned to do that.”

“Cameron—”

Another step forward, and I can barely catch my breath. “I put so much pressure on myself this season. I wanted to win sobadly, both for me and to prove to everyone I wasn’t broken. But as the season went on, I realized the only time I was happy, the only time I could forget about everything holding me back, was when I was with you. Even being in the box didn’t bring me the joy it used to. So when I wasn’t with you, it felt like I was drowning and—” His eyes meet mine, and they’re filled with a sincerity that makes my heart do a little dance. “I didn’t want you to be my life raft, Daphne. I didn’t want to need saving.”

“I don’t think you need saving.”

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