Page 48 of Terms + Conditions
“Get out.” She tries to close the door, but I won’t budge.
What the fuck does that mean?Could’ve had and lost. We had been broken up for months before she finally decided to leave, so what does that even mean?
“I said, get out!” She tries to push me from the bathroom, but I grab her wrists and hold her in place, bending to meet her gaze.
“Everything I could’ve had? You never planned on staying, Elizabeth!”
And she doesn’t deny it. From day one, I told myself not to fall in love with her because, at the end of the day, she was going to leave. That was always the plan. Her plan. But it didn’t matter because no matter how hard I tried, I did fall in love with her. Through the years, we walked a fine line between what was real and what was a result of circumstance, constantly teetering from one side to the other. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t stop myself. I fell completely, hopelessly in love with Elizabeth Regina Cain, even though I knew it was going to crush me when our time was up.
And when it did…when things came to an end that final time, she made it clear there was no going back. We would live out the rest of the arrangement separately unless it was something we had to do.
The ache in my heart was worse than anything I could’ve imagined. Knowing it was the end—that despite my best efforts, she wasn’t coming back, she was leaving—I had to do something to try and dull the pain, even in the slightest. So, when Wichita happened, I thought it might be the universe allowing me to move on.
Elizabeth’s phone rings in the bedroom, and I feel her body jump from the sudden burst of noise, but she doesn’t move. She stands there a moment longer before she takes a deep breath and says, “You’re right, Josh. This was always the plan.”
Slipping from my grasp like butter, she walks into the bedroom and pulls her phone out of the nightstand drawer. There’s a slight hesitation when she looks at the screen. She starts to swipe to answer but then decides against it. She stuffs it back into the nightstand and slams the drawer shut before huffing back into the bathroom.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THEN
May 2019
“THANK YOU FOR DROPPING those pies off to your mom earlier,” Elizabeth says from the doorway.
Warm light with an orange hue streams through the windows of my home office, signaling that it’s way past time to be working, but I had taken a little extra time off this afternoon to help my sister put her plan in motion. Elizabeth looks radiant standing there, and I lean back in my chair, admiring the woman who is about to become my wife. We have four months until we’re supposed to sayI Do, and wedding planning has been nonstop since January. Who knew there was so much shit to do before walking down the aisle? I didn’t. Luckily, she has been taking care of most of it with Nina’s help.
“They were a hit at the PTA meeting, or so your mom says.”
“They always are.”
Elizabeth had picked up baking after her parents died. It gave her something to do, something to take her mind off things. Recovery was a long road, and baking gave her a sense of purpose again. There was a great sense of accomplishment in transforming simple ingredients into a delectable treat. Not onlywas it her escape, but it offered new challenges, bringing a sense of pride every time she was able to conquer a tough recipe.
“Why did you drag Nick with you to Nina’s office today?” she asks, raising her brow as she sits in the chair across from me. She crosses her legs before folding her hands on top of her knee.
“He needed to grab a part from the store. I was already going into town, so I offered him a ride, and thought we could grab a bite.”
“Andstop by Nina’s with the pies for your mom when you could easily drop them off at school?” Elizabeth laughs when I shrug. “I’m assuming MJ told you about Brina threatening to set Nina up with the neighbor.”
“She may have mentioned something about it.”
“Let me guess.” She lightly taps her chin before turning to me with a smirk. “She told you about it, and then you both decidedNickwas the answer?”
The plan was simple. I’d call Nick and invite him to lunch. It just so happened that fate was on my side, and Nick needed to go into town anyway. When Michaela mentioned Nina was in a predicament and wondered if Nick would go for it, I told her absolutely not, but it was worth a shot. Our cousin was in desperate need of a vacation. The past six years had been anything but kind to him. Why not give him a shove in the right direction? I never anticipated the two of them already knowing each other. Nick had always avoided any interaction with her that I was aware of; I should’ve known something was up when his mood instantly changed the second we pulled up to DV Designs on the square. I just assumed it was because of whatever his previous presumptions were. Until…
“What areyoudoing here?” Nina had asked, genuinely surprised when Nick turned away from her older designs displayed on the wall.
“You know each other?” Michaela asked, sharing a confused glance with me.
“He’s the guy who spilled coffee on me.”
“You’re coffee boy?” My sister all but shouted.
“Coffee boy?” I asked, confused by the entire interaction.
“Nick ran into Nina two weeks ago and spilled coffee all over her.”
“Correction, she ran into me,” Nick interjected, a smirk spreading across his lips as he stared down the woman I brought him to meet. After a quick re-introduction, Nick had no interest in sticking around to get to know her, ready to get back to work at the garage. He didn’t say much on the way back from town, but then again, I didn’t expect him to.
