Page 121 of Hang the Moon
“Brendon’s not going to begrudge you a couple weeks to make a life-altering decision. He understands. He’ll be relieved when he—”
“You can’t say anything,” she blurted.
“I can’t?” Darcy sounded suspicious.
“No. You can’t.” She sat up a little straighter, easing her weight off the boxes at her back. “I want to tell him.”
And she wanted to do it in person. See the look on his facewhen he realized she was in Seattle. For good. That she wasall in.
“I won’t say anything.” She couldn’t see Darcy’s eye roll, but she could practically hear it.
“And you can’t mention this,” she urged, rolling to her knees. “You can’t tell him about the picture or me freaking out. He’ll think—”
“That you’re human and sometimes we have messy reactions that aren’t always grounded in rationality? I won’t tell him.”
“Thank you. Not for the condescension, but the rest.”
“You’re welcome. Now, tell me when I can pick you up from the airport.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Saturday, June 26
ANNIE (8:15 A.M.):Look what I found.
Brendon grinned at the blurry photo of Annie he’d snapped the night of Katie and Jian’s wedding. She was bathed in blue light, the sun slinking below the horizon behind her. Her smile was fuzzy but blinding, making his entire chest throb.
He reached for his towel, wiping the chalk dust off his hands from his morning climb, before he typed his response.
BRENDON (8:22 A.M.):You look beautiful.
ANNIE (8:26 A.M.):I was looking at you.
Tuesday, June 29
ANNIE (4:23 P.M.):I miss you.
His fingers hovered over his keypad.
You don’t have to miss me. Come back. Please.
BRENDON (4:25 P.M.):Me too.
ANNIE (4:31 P.M.):
Thursday, July 1
BRENDON (11:11 A.M.):Thinking about you.
“Brendon.Brendon.”
He tore his eyes from his phone. No unread messages. He offered Mom a tight smile from across the table of the bistro she’d chosen for their lunch. “Sorry. You were saying?”
“I said we should grab dinner together on Saturday. There’s this new restaurant that opened up on Main Street I’ve been dying to try. Maybe you could even drag your sister along if you can pry her away from her girlfriend for long enough.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Mom and Darcy’s relationship had been contentious for nearly as long as he could remember, but the subtle pokes and prods from Mom that put him in the middle wore on him.
“Sure.” He nodded absently, glancing at his phone when it vibrated.
