Page 83 of Face Me Off

“We still have another year and a half before graduation. You really think a long-distance relationship will work? People who’ve been together for years can’t make it.”

“I have to try.” His voice cracks, and I know exactly how he’s feeling because I feel the same way.

“You really do love her, don’t you?”

“So fucking much.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this.” I huff. “But you need to figure out a way for her to return, or you go there. The internship means a lot to her. Albeit it’s not in oncology as she hoped, but she won’t give it up unless there’s a damn good reason.”

“You’re right.” He pauses. “I have to let you go. I may just have a plan.”

“Good luck, buddy.”

“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”

I hang up and replay the words I said. She won’t give it up unless there’s a damn good reason. Is Madison giving up on us because she thinks it’s for the best? Like, is she trying to protect me? She wanted me to give her space, but how many days does she need? I want to make sure we’re on the same page.

“I gotta go,” I announce when I enter the kitchen and snatch my keys from the hook.

Dad’s eyebrows shoot up. “We’re not finished here, Ryan. Your future?—”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to fight for,” I cut him off, surprising myself with my boldness. “My future. With Maddy.”

“Madison Grimes?”

“The very one.”

For a moment, he looks like I’ve just body-checked him into the boards. Then, something shifts in his eyes. Is thatadmiration?

“Be careful, son,” he says, his voice gruff but not unkind.

I pause, staring at my old man. “She’s not like Mom, Dad.”

He sucks in a breath.

“I hope not. For your sake, I hope not.”

“Me, too.” I nod, then I’m out the door.

Thirty minutes later, I find myself standing at the Grimes’ front door, and my sense of brevity has diminished.

I pictured Maddy’s face, the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her art, and the soft curve of her smile when she looked at me. Her sweet ass bent over as I power drive into her. Fucking sweet.

She was worth fighting for. Worth risking everything for.

I knew what I had to do. It was time to take control of my destiny and fight for the future I wanted. And that future started with Maddy.

With a deep breath, I ring the doorbell, my throat drier than the Sahara Desert. This was it. The moment of truth.

And as the door swings open, revealing Maddy’s surprised face, I know with absolute certainty that I am exactly where I was meant to be.

CHAPTER THIRTY

RYAN

Maddy’s eyeswidened as she looked at me standing at her doorstep. “Ryan?”

Confusion mixed with something else, longing maybe, swirls in her stare as she holds my gaze. Those long auburn curls are twisted into a loose bun. Her form-fitting dress showcases every curve I have seared into memory.

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