Page 33 of Eight Years Gone

She smiled again. “That sounds perfect.”

Ben headed toward the long lines at the trucks as Grace turned, glancing toward where she’d left Jagger.

He was gone.

Her gaze tracked through the crowds as she searched for him. Finally, she spotted him heading toward the makeshift parking lot.

Something about how he walked—the purpose in each step—had her moving in his direction.

He was leaving. An instinct—a messy mix of panic and heartsickness—warned her he was walking away again.

And this time, he wouldn’t come back.

She picked up her pace as he crossed the dirt road, moving closer to the hundreds of cars parked in neat rows in the next field.

“Jagger,” she called, even as she tried to figure out what the hell she was doing.

She’d made the first move when she spotted him ten minutes ago, taking a chance by closing the distance between them to talk to him.

She’d replayed her conversation with Aunt Maggie numerous times. She desperately needed to protect herself from the pain of having Jagger back in her life. But as much as she didn’t want to hurt, she didn’t want him to hurt either.

“Jagger,” she yelled louder.

He stopped and turned.

Her heart betrayed her, fluttering in her chest just from looking at him.

Jagger wasn’t the same man he’d been when he left her all those years ago, but he was still beautiful. “Wait up,” she said breathlessly, knowing it was as much from his effect on her as the fast pace she’d been forced to keep.

He started moving in her direction.

She stopped in front of him. “You’re leaving.”

“It’s time for me to go.”

The double meaning of their conversation wasn’t lost on either of them. She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she stared at the ground.

“We, uh, we have a big shipment of flowers coming in on Friday. There’s a big wedding this next weekend. I know we could use your help—”

“Are you happy?” he blurted out.

She met his gaze but found it impossible to speak, so she nodded.

“He makes you happy?”

She swallowed past the emotions choking her throat. “We just started dating, but I think so. I think he can. I think we can make each other happy.”

He nodded.

She closed her eyes, fighting to keep her composure, feeling the tear trailing down her cheek as she lost the battle. “I don’t know how to do this with you here,” she said in a shaky whisper.

“I just needed to know that you’re okay.”

More tears fell as he broke her heart all over again. “I’m okay.”

“Let me give Todd a couple of weeks to figure things out. Then I’ll go.”

Why was this so hard? She needed him to leave if she wanted to live her life, yet she didn’t know how to let him go.

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