Page 31 of One Sweet Day is Never Enough

He asked about her day and she answered in a few words, then he filled her in on the outcome of the festival when she asked. Finally, he sat up in the bed. “Stace, we need to talk.”

Stacey went quiet for a second, her expression changing. “I know. I’m really sorry, babe. I got out of control last night. It’s just that I miss you and all of this is messing with my head.” Her face was full of longing. “I never meant to break up with you. I was just angry. Can you forgive me? Can we start over and pretend that it never happened?”

Oh, no. He hadn’t seen that coming. Now he’d have to put her through it all over again.

He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Where should he start? He’d thought they’d be past this.

“Listen, I get it. You were upset with me. You had every right to be, but this isn’t going to work.”

“What’s not going to work?” She looked confused.

Seth let out a heavy breath. “I, uh, I’ve been thinking about our situation a lot lately. You were right about me. I wasn’t being honest with you, and I apologize for that. I should’ve told you how I was feeling. But I’m being honest now. I don’t think you should move here.”

“Well, I kind of figured that when you told me just to visit first. But why not?”

Seth gazed at her. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea. There are just too many unknowns.”

“Unknowns? Like what? What are you talking about?”

“Like—if you’ll even like it here. It’s really, really different from what you’re used to. And it practically shuts down here in the winter. Plus, it gets so cold.”

Stacey waved it off. “I already know about the cold. I’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to the snow.”

Seth shook his head. “It’s not just snow.” She had no idea what she was getting into. Wisconsin was anything butjust snow.

He stared into the camera. “And it’s not justthat.”

“What is it, then?” She flinched slightly. “Look, I’m a big girl. I can handle change. I’m willing to do this for us.”

“That’s just it—I know you are. But my heart’s not in it.” Seth stopped. He put his hands on top of his head. This was even harder than he thought it would be. “I can’t do this anymore, Stacey. This whole thing—it’s not going to work. It’s too much. I can’t do it.”

Could she understand? Would she?

Stacey persisted. “But—the visit, the apartment. I was planning to come and see it. I was going to buy a plane ticket this week.” She shook her head. “You’re just getting cold feet.”

“No, I’m not. And I’m sorry.” Seth shook his head gently. “Forget about the apartment.”

“But…” Stacey began, then let the sentence drift off. Tears started to stream down her face. “So, then—okay, we can just keep going on like we have been, I guess? Is that what you’re saying?”

“No, babe, I’m sorry, but I’m not willing to carry on a relationship from seven states away anymore. I thought maybe you understood that last night when you were angry enough to break up with me. This whole situation can’t be making you happy, either.”

“No, I didn’t realize you were so sure about it. I thought maybe I was imagining things. I’m perfectly happy,” she whined.

He frowned. She couldn’t be telling the truth right now. “No, you weren’t imagining things. This is really hard for me to say, but we aren’t right for each other.” He spoke more slowly. “I can see it, now that we’ve been apart all this time.”

“What are you saying then?” Stacey held her breath.

“I’m saying that if you didn’t mean it last night when you broke up with me, then I’m really sorry, and I should’ve been honest a lot sooner, but I’m afraid I’m breaking up withyou.”

Stacey sucked in a breath. A few moments passed in silence.

He hated to hurt her this way.

“But—we have so much together,” she countered. “And you’re not even giving it a chance.” She wiped her eyes. She wasn’t going to give up easily, was she?

Seth rubbed his temple. “Ihavegiven it a chance. I’ve been giving it a chance for almost three-and-a-half months now, and I’m really sorry.” He looked at her more closely. “Are you okay?”

Stacey didn’t answer. She burst into tears.

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