Page 46 of The Ex-Girlfriend Agreement

"No, you can't." She touches my arm gently. "But you can make it harder for her to walk away. You can refuse to make it easy."

The cab driver honks, reminding me of the ticking clock. I glance back toward the pavilion, where I can just make out Brooke's figure, her head bent in conversation with her father.

"I love your daughter," I tell Linda, the words inadequate to express the depth of feeling behind them. "I probably always will. But sometimes love isn't enough."

"It is when it's real," she counters. "And what you and Brooke have? That's as real as it gets. Even when you're both pretending otherwise."

I blink, surprised by her insight, but before I can respond, she leans up to kiss my cheek. "Safe travels, Dean. I hope we see you again soon."

With that, she turns and walks back toward the brunch, leaving me standing beside the idling cab with the distinct feeling I've just been outmaneuvered by a woman who knows her daughter better than anyone.

The driver takes my bag, stowing it in the trunk while I contemplate Linda's words. Could she be right? Am I giving up too easily, making it too simple for Brooke to retreat to her safe, solitary life?

As I open the cab door, movement catches my eye. Brooke is hurrying across the resort's circular driveway, her sundress fluttering in the ocean breeze, her expression a mixture of determination and panic.

"Dean, wait!"

My hand freezes on the door handle, heart suddenly pounding against my ribs. For a wild moment, I imagine her running into my arms, declaring she's changed her mind, that she's ready to take the risk on us.

But when she reaches me, she stops several feet away, maintaining a careful distance that speaks volumes.

"You were just going to leave?" she asks, hurt evident in her voice. "Without saying goodbye?"

"I said goodbye at the brunch," I remind her, suddenly weary beyond words. "What more is there to say, Brooke?"

She looks lost, standing there with her arms wrapped around herself as if warding off a chill despite the warm Hawaiian sun. "I don't know. I just…it feels wrong, ending things like this."

"How should we end them? With promises we both know you're not ready to keep?" I shake my head, a sad smile tugging at my lips. "Better a clean break than more half-truths."

"Is that what last night was to you? A half-truth?" There's a vulnerability in her question that almost breaks my resolve.

"No," I say softly. "Last night was completely real. That's the problem."

She takes a step toward me, then stops, conflict clear in her expression. "I don't want you to go," she whispers.

"Then give me a reason to stay," I challenge. "A real one, Brooke. Not friendship, not taking it slow. Tell me you're ready to figure this out together, whatever it takes."

The silence that follows is answer enough. Her eyes fill with tears, but she doesn't speak the words that might change everything.

"That's what I thought." I turn back to the cab, my hands numb at my sides, even as I feel a warmth in my chest, an uncomfortable heat that I recognize as the dying embers of hope. "Goodbye, Brooke."

I slide into the backseat without looking back, giving the driver instructions to the airport. As we pull away, I finally allow myself one last glance through the rear window.

Brooke stands where I left her, a solitary figure growing smaller with distance, her arms still wrapped around herself in that protective gesture I know so well. She doesn't wave, doesn't call after the cab, doesn't make any move to stop me from leaving.

And that, more than anything, tells me I'm making the right choice. Painful as it is, walking away now hurts less than staying to watch her slowly back away from everything we could be.

I see Linda talking to her daughter as the cab turns onto the main road, taking me away from the resort, away from Brooke, away from the brief, beautiful dream that we might find our way back to each other.

Back to reality. Back to Colorado. Back to a life without Brooke Callahan—a life I've lived before and will learn to live again, even if right now it feels impossible.

SEVENTEEN

Brooke

I stand frozenin the resort driveway, watching Dean's taxi disappear around the bend, taking with it the man I love and any chance of a future together. My mother appears at my side, silent at first, her presence a familiar comfort even as her disapproval radiates in waves I can practically feel against my skin. The Hawaiian sun beats down, merciless and bright, highlighting the world in painful clarity—the vibrant flowers lining the drive, the impossibly blue sky, the empty space where Dean stood moments ago. I should move, should say something, should at least pretend I'm not falling apart inside. But my body won't cooperate, locked in place by the certainty that I've just made the biggest mistake of my life. Again.

"Why are you letting him go again?" My mother's voice breaks through my paralysis, quiet but laced with a disappointment that cuts deeper than anger ever could.

---