Page 95 of Fighting Words

I laugh and come up and over him, kissing his neck. “Nate, you fool. Iwantto stay here. Iwantto be with you so badly, but you have to finish your book. You have to finish the series on your own.”

For so long he doesn’t speak. He watches his finger trace along my jawline as he comes to terms with what he knows is right. Then his gaze lifts to mine again.

“Alright. You’ll go back to New York for a short time. And then…” he whispers hopefully, running his fingers down my spine.

“And then…” I confirm, kissing his mouth and letting him pull me back under the covers.

I doubt we’ll sleep at all tonight.

CHAPTER 26

SUMMER

One week later

I’m sitting on a leather chair in the InkWell offices staring out at the cityscape beyond the bank of windows to my left. It’s a gray, overcast day, so cold my teeth chatter just thinking about my walk home later.

Returning to life in New York has been just as jarring as I expected it to be. No more storybook village. No more little shops and quiet pubs. No more cottage. No more Nate.

Everything I once loved about the city seems unbearable now. The sludge sitting in piles on the sides of the streets, the crowded sidewalks, the pressure of the metropolis beating in from all sides. Everyone has entirely too much access to me. My phone pings with text messages and work emails at every moment. Even when I turn my TV off, trying to replicate the peace and quiet of Nate’s cottage, I can hear my neighbor’s TV blaring through the living room wall. I want to be able to cook in my apartment, but there’s no oven, and the electric burners on the stove barely get hot enough to boil a pot of water. I put in a request with my super, and I’ve been placed at the end of the long line of people with maintenance requests. So maybe come summer, it’ll actually be fixed. Hopefully, by then, I’ll be long gone…

I haven’t seen my family yet. I’m supposed to meet them for dinner tomorrow night. Emma’s made a reservation at her favorite restaurant, and she cc’d Andrew on the email about it. He must have immediately reached out to her because a half hour later, she sent an amended reservation that didn’t include him.

I thought she might have called me to ask about Andrew, but we still haven’t talked.

“Summer?” Joy pokes her head out of her office, and when I turn, she waves me in.

I stand and smooth the wrinkles out of my skirt before I go in for our meeting.

She reclaims her seat behind her desk and smiles at me. “First of all, I just have to say, I’m really impressed.” I flush as she goes on. “We’ve reviewed the summary Nathaniel provided as well as the first few chapters ofA Cosmic Penance,and we’re extremely excited to see where he will take this project.” She leans in and her eyes widen. “Honestly, I still can’t believe he’s writing.”

It’s been a week since I left England. A week without Nate.

He drove me to the airport and wrapped me in a tight hug, bending to whisper, “Don’t go. I’ll drive us back right now. Quick, get back in the car.”

I laughed and shook my head.

I had to leave; there was no way around it, but that didn’t mean I didn’t tear up as he held me, didn’t consider for one wild moment sayingScrew itand letting him cart me back to his cottage forever.

“I have to go, Nate.”

I tipped my head back and he cupped my cheeks, his eyes flitting back and forth between mine, likely searching for a chink in my armor, some way he could convince me to stay.

“I’m only letting you gofornow,” he declared with fierce determination. “When you’re over there, so far away, don’t forget you’re mine.”

You’re mine.

I cried on the airplane coming home, crammed in my economy seat as tears slipped down my cheeks. It felt like I was leaving my heart in England, making the wrong decision, somehow. The woman beside me pretended not to notice, though she did slide me a tissue from her purse. And later, when our meal arrived, she gave me her dessert too.

“I think you need it,” she said softly.

I did.

Joy takes a sip of her coffee before continuing, “I do think you should know that Nate sent an email yesterday praising your work. He said we’re lucky to have you.” She frowns, studying me. “To be clear, I would have pushed to have you stay on the project. I know you’re a junior editor, but it’s clear you and Nathaniel had chemistry together. I doubt this book would be happening if not for you.”

Chemistry.

Ha.

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