Reid took the turn into Brynn’s driveway on two wheels. Vanessa had insisted he walk her into the party, and she’d roped him into a photo-op for the society section of the newspaper and half a dozen introductions. Then, his aunt and uncle had dragged him into a conversation with the mayor. Now he was a solid hour late for his date with Brynn. He’d stopped by the office to pick her up, but she’d already left. And she wasn’t answering her phone.
Damn it. He’d wanted tonight to go perfectly and he’d screwed that up. Hopefully, once she saw what he had planned she’d forgive him.
He hustled up the sidewalk and knocked on her door, praying that she wasn’t too upset with him, but no one answered. Oh, come on. Her car was in the driveway, so he knew she had to be home. Was she mad enough not to answer the door? She usually wasn’t that easily angered.
He knocked again, and the door finally cracked open. He opened his mouth to launch into his apology speech, but when he took in Brynn’s state, the words died on his lips.
Brynn was dressed in gray sweats, her hair damp from a shower, and her eyes bloodshot and puffy.
“Sugar, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out for her.
She shrunk back before he touched her. “I… uh… I’m not feeling very well. I think I may have the flu.”
He frowned. “Oh, no, that sucks. Is there anything I can do? Obviously, you can’t go out, but do you want me to go pick up some soup and we can watch movies or something?”
She shook her head, and he had the impression that she may burst into tears. “No, but can you come in for a minute? We need to talk.”
He tucked his keys in his pocket. “Yeah, of course.”
She walked back into her living room and he followed, shutting the door behind him. She curled into the chair and tucked her knees to her chest. He had to stop himself from going over to her, picking her up and holding her. He’d never seen her look so miserable.
He sat on the couch. “Look, before you start, I just want to tell you, I am so sorry for being late. I got hung up and couldn’t get away. And I tried to call, but then I couldn’t reach you. And I feel like a dick.”
She looked up at him, her face emotionless. “We’ve got to end this.”
The words hit him like an anvil to the gut and halted his rambling. “Wait, what?”
Her eyes went watery, and she quickly swiped at her face with her sweatshirt-covered hands. “I’m sorry, Reid. But this—us—has to end.”
“Us?” His heart began to pound in his ears and panic edged in. Where the hell had this come from? “No. I don’t understand.”
She looked down, staring at the now damp sleeves of her shirt. “You knew this had an expiration date. We agreed to have a summer thing. Summer’s over. I’m leaving.”
He sat forward on the sofa, hope entering his voice. “But it doesn’t have to end. That’s what I was going to tell you tonight. There are ways we can work this out. I can go to Austin with you.”
Her head snapped up, her reddened eyes wide. “You want to move?”
He smiled. “Yeah, sugar. I want to be with you. Wherever that is.”
She shook her head, her tears returning. “No, you can’t.”
Screw the flu. He got off the couch and went to crouch in front of her chair, laying a tentative hand on her knee. “Baby, sure I can. I don’t know what the future holds. But all I know is I don’t want to let you go. Nothing is holding me here, and in Austin, we won’t even have to worry about anyone seeing us. We can just be together—wherever and whenever we want.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and stayed that way for a moment before taking a deep, shaky breath. Her voice came out flat. “There’s someone else, Reid. I have a boyfriend waiting for me in Austin. This was just supposed to be a fling. I love him.”
All sounds in the room suddenly seemed painfully loud. The ticking clock above the couch, the used car salesman on TV, the hum of the box fan on the other side of the room. His hand slipped off her knee, and he sank back onto his heels.
A lump the size of a grapefruit lodged in his throat. “There’s someone else? Why didn’t you tell me? Why—?”
“The same reason why you didn’t tell me about Vanessa.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “It’s not like that, she’s not—”
“So that’s not who you were with tonight?” she asked, her voice more sad than angry.
His stunned silence gave her the answer.
“How long would it take for you to get tired of me? To want someone who fits into your life. We come from different worlds. This just wasn’t meant to be.” She rose from the chair and gave him one last lingering look before turning her back to him. “Please just go. I won’t be returning to work. I wish you the best, Reid.”