Page 100 of Finding Jess

“Did you tell him about Liz?”

Jess shrugged. “I told him at the beginning, when we first started seeing each other. But we never talked about it after that. He never asked.”

Sam nodded, letting comfortable silence fall between them.

After a minute, Jess exhaled, leaning into her slightly as she shivered in the dusky cold air.“How do you feel now that you’re back?”

Sam thought about it for a moment—how it felt seeing the familiar road as they drove up to the house. The memories of every time she’d picked her up and dropped her off there when they’d first met.

It felt like an eternity had passed, but each memory was crisp enough in her mind that it could’ve been hardly any time at all.

“It’s weird,” Sam said quietly as her gaze drifted across the darkened sky above the wooden fence.

“What’re you going to do after you sell the company?”

Sam tilted her head back, releasing a sigh. “I haven’t really figured that out yet. I’ve just been so focused on what comes before that I haven’t really been able to see past it.”

Jess threw her a teasing smirk. “Retire on a beach somewhere?”

Sam snorted a laugh. “Pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to make it more than ten minutes without getting bored.”

Jess smiled knowingly at her.

“I don’t know,” Sam continued. “I guess maybe start another software company? Probably with Caleb again. And then just see what happens.”

Jess arched one brow at her. “So, exactly what you’re doing right now?”

“Well, not—” Sam paused, her mouth remaining open for a moment. Then she closed it, cocking her head to the side. She’d never really thought about it before. But—yeah. That’s what shewanted her days to look like. Exactly what she was already doing. Minus the constant travel and stress of hyper-growth.

She let out an amused chuff. “Okay, yeah. I guess so.”

Jess laughed, shaking her head as she sipped her drink. “Are you gonna stay in Seattle?”

Sam glanced at her, wondering if there was a specific reason she’d chosen to ask.

“I don’t know,” she answered quietly. “I never thought I’d end up back here. Or at least, end up this close to where I grew up.” She ran a hand across the back of her neck. “I never really planned on coming back once I left.”

Jess gave a slight nod.

“But it’s also been—nice,” Sam continued. “Better than I expected. Being around friends and everything.”

She sighed, resting her elbows against her knees.

“Did you miss it?” Jess asked quietly. “I mean, did you miss Scarlett and—” she trailed off, but Sam knew what she was really asking.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I missed—everyone—a lot.” She swallowed, tapping a finger against the edge of her glass. “But I think I’ve always just had this tunnel vision. Ever since I graduated. I knew what I wanted and—it’s like I could only ever think about getting it. I never let myself think about any of the other stuff. Any of the stuff I—” she swallowed, realizing for the first time how true it was. “Gave up.”

Chapter twenty-one

Sam walked through the familiar hallway toward the desk she’d spent so many days and nights at in the past.

The second Scarlett had told her the wedding would be held back in their hometown, she knew she had to stop by the clinic to see Laura. Really, it was the only thing she actually looked forward to about being back.

Laura was one of the few constants of the town that only brought along pleasant memories.

She made her way to the end of the hall where a young woman stood at the side, looking down at her phone.

Sam cleared her throat as she approached.

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