“My pleasure.” His eyes seemed to lighten as he stared at me, his tongue licking across the inside of his bottom lip. “I know it’s cold, but there’s a creek that’s a good twenty-minute walk from here, and I’d really like to show it to you.”
I circled my arms around him, clasping my hands behind his back. “I want to see everything with you.”
It was the truth even if it wasn’t possible, and that was more painful than I could process right now.
His fingers moved into my hair, holding the back of my head as he pulled me against him so not even air was separating us now. And that was how we stayed, locked together until he eventually backed away.
“Wait,” I said, and he stopped. “Will you hold me for just a little bit longer?”
“Of course.” His arms returned, his embrace even tighter, his lips now hovering over mine.
“I know, one day soon, we won’t be able to do this.” Each inhale hurt worse, making it so hard to speak. “And I …” My voice trailed off when he positioned me in a way where my face rested against his chest, his mouth pressing into the top of my head.
“I’m not going to let go.”
And he didn’t, even keeping our hands clasped when he took me out the door and into the woods. Since I’d hiked mountains my whole life, this wasn’t a hard trail to follow, and when we got to a section where we neared the water, we stopped on the bank and looked down.
I saw why Oliver had wanted to bring me here. It was the perfect combination of nature with the trees, fresh scent, and the sound the water made as it trickled over the rocks.
I was taking it all in, my eyes closing when I said, “I never want to leave.”
He was standing behind me now, his face in my neck, his arm wrapped across my chest. “I was hoping you’d love it here.”
I glanced over my shoulder, waiting for him to pull his face out so I could catch his eyes. “Are you going to tell me the story behind this place?”
He still hadn’t said whom it belonged to or why he had chosen it for the weekend.
“I used to spend every summer here as a kid.” He released his grip, and I faced him. “That’s my family’s cottage. Started with my grandparents, and now that they’ve passed, it’s my mum and dad’s.” I watched his chest rise as he filled his lungs with the biggest breath and gradually let it out, still saying nothing for several seconds. “I don’t get to come here as much as I used to—I’m just too busy now—but when I do … it always grounds me.”
My hands slid under his jacket, palms flat against his stomach so I could feel him even more. “I love it here, and I love that it’s your place.”
I would never forget this—the creek, the charming little cottage.
Oliver.
Oh God.
Then, he made the moment even more perfect when he said, “There’s a shop just up the road. You go take a bath and warm up while I grab us something to make for dinner.”
“Yes. Yes. And more yes.”
His smile was huge, and I could feel it on my lips. “I love you, Chloe.”
My heart clenched and shook inside my chest, causing waves to tingle through my body. “Oliver …” The emotion moved to my eyes, hands tightening around him. They were words that had been pulsing through me, and I could finally say them. “I love you too.”
When I tasted his lips, I knew getting on that plane would be the hardest thing I’d ever have to do.
Eighteen
My heart pounded into my throat as I gripped my laptop with both hands, reading the email that had just come through. It was from the human resources department at Back Bay Digital, one of the largest marketing agencies in Boston and the most coveted internship program at my school. The email said they’d made their final decision on next semester and they would like to offer one of the positions to me.
This was one of the many internships Professor Naples, the head of the marketing department—and my advisor for the last three years—had had me interview for before I left for England. All the programs in the city were so competitive, and I’d prepared myself to be turned down by all of them.
I never expected a dream position at a company that could employ me after I graduated.
I clicked the attachment to read the details of their offer, which gave more specific responsibilities I would have and their compensation package along with the dates I would be contracted to work.
My eyes fell across the month they had listed, and all the air left my body.
The position started in June and went through the end of the year with an opportunity to extend it. But that meant I’d have to be back in Boston two months before I was planning to leave.
And it also meant I wouldn’t be spending the summer with Oliver.
Normally, I would have forwarded the email to Professor Naples and waited for him to call so we could discuss the offer, and I would then phone Molly and my parents to celebrate the news.
But right now, I didn’t feel like doing any of that.
I shut my laptop, setting it on the desk behind my bed, and I dragged the blanket up to my neck, tucking myself into a ball. My heart was aching, and it only got worse when I pulled up the Calendar app on my phone and figured out when I’d have to fly back if I took the internship.
Twenty-seven days.
And then I would have to say good-bye to the man I loved.
I sat across from Oliver at the pub, the one the guys went to so often that they knew everyone. I was starting to as well since I spent almost every night at their house. And even though I had an exam in the morning and should have been home studying, when Oliver had asked if I wanted to go out, I’d shut my textbook and grabbed my jacket. I hadn’t read a single word of the chapter anyway. I hadn’t been able to focus on anything since the email came in earlier today. I was hoping after a few beers and some noise, my head would clear.
But I was two drinks deep and not any closer.
“You want to talk about it?” Oliver asked.
I hadn’t realized I’d been staring at my hands while they were circled around my beer. Slowly, I looked up, knowing my feelings were showing all over my face.
Before I could say anything, he reached into his pocket, took out some pounds, handed them to Jake, and said, “Grab the three of us a round.”
“Happy to, mate,” Jake replied, and he left us alone.
That was when Oliver reached for my seat and slid my chair closer to his. “What’s going on, Chloe?”
I gripped the sweat-stained glass and said, “I got offered an internship today.” His eyes were already filled with excitement, his hand squeezing my thigh. “At a pretty incredible marketing agency in Boston.”
“Hell yeah! That’s my fucking girl.”
He leaned in for a kiss, and I tasted the beer on his mouth and smelled the leathery scent of his cologne. It was too much.
“Oliver …” I pulled my lips away, searching deep in my chest for some air. “It starts in four weeks.” The pain in my body began to get stronger. “I would have to leave the day after finals.”
He cupped my cheek, thumb brushing back and forth like always. For the briefest of seconds, I saw the pain in his eyes, I saw the hurt, and then it was gone, in its place a calm gentleness.