Page 9 of The Do-Over

I turned around and there was Macy Goldman, walking toward me. I wanted to just ignore her, or maybe pull her hair, but a twisted part of me wanted to hear what she had to say.

“Listen.” She ran up to me, breathless, and said, “I just want you to know that Josh isn’t lying. We were about to get coffee, justtalking in his car, and I was the one who leaned in and kissed him. There is nothing going on between us.”

I regretted listening to her, because up close, she was even prettier than she was from a distance.

“It was all me,” she said. “He did nothing wrong.”

“So.” I felt surprisingly numb as she looked up at me with a nervous expression. “You still like him, then?”

That made her look super uncomfortable. She pressed her lips together before saying, “Well, I mean—”

“Forget it.” I shook my head, suddenly exhausted with everything. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does, because Josh—”

“I can’t talk to you right now.” I turned and exited the building.

I’d wanted love that was better than my parents’ love, something that was built to last. That wouldn’t end with the neighbors calling the cops when my mom broke off statue-Cupid’s head and threw it at my dad. But now, I felt as heartbroken as I did on that terrible day.

I started trudging home, trying to hold it together as the winter wind whipped at my face. Thank God my dad lived in the next subdivision; any farther and frostbite might’ve been yet another surprise I could’ve added to that momentous Valentine’s Day.

My phone buzzed, and I wanted to scream when I saw it was my boss again. Ialwayshelped him out when no one else would, so healwayscalled me because he knew I couldn’t say no. I put my phone away without answering.

When I finally got home, I was surprised to see my dad’s car in the driveway. He was usually at work that time of day.

I unlocked the front door and went into the living room. “Hello? Dad?”

He peeked around the wall of the den. “Hey, squirt; why are you home?”

“Um. I got sick.”

“You okay?”

I nodded, although I wasn’t at all okay. It was the day where it was all supposed to happen for me. For once, instead of sadly commemorating the anniversary of my family splitting off into two separate units, I was supposed to feel the rush and say the words. I’d done my homework, I’d found the perfect guy, and today had been earmarked forlove.

Now, however, it appeared as though I’d finish the day without saying or hearing those three words. I’d probably finish it with a stomachache, buried under a pile of Snickers wrappers.

Maybe I needed to grab my planner and add that to my to-do list.

“Well, I’m actually glad you’re here, because I want to talk to you about something before the boys get home.”

“Okay…?”

“Sit down.” He gestured for me to go into the den, and when I did, he plopped down onto the love seat and patted the spot beside him. “I don’t even really know how to say this.”

How many times could one person hear that in a day?

“Just say it.” I plopped down next to him, closed my eyes, and pictured Josh kissing her. Macy Goldman. “How bad can it be?”

He let out a breath. “I’ve been offered a promotion, but it requires we move to Houston.”

My eyes opened. “Texas?”

“Texas.”

“Oh. Wow.” That was like fifteen hours away from Omaha. Before I could say anything else, he said—

“After a lot of soul-searching, I’ve decided to take the job.”

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