“Liri, we belong together. You know we do.” He holds my hand to his chest and flattens my palm over his heart. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
“I want you to leave so I can finish packing.” I slide the ring off my finger and tuck it back in his hand. “I can’t marry you.”
“So that’s it. You’re done and leaving me for Paris.”
“You don’t get to push this off on me. You did this, Killian. You!” I shove at him, and he stumbles back falling onto the bed when he trips over the other box.
“Everything okay in there?” Cooper barks from the other side of the door.
“It’s fine. Killian is getting ready to leave.” I glare at him. He has his head down and buried in his hands. I stomp over to him and grab the top of his hair in my fingers. Forcing his head up, I nearly crumble when I see the tears in his eyes. “You need to go. Let me go, Killian. It hurts too damn much. I’m not going to survive you a second time.”
His arms wrap around me, and he buries his face in my chest. “Just let me hold you for a minute. Give me that much,” his voice cracks, and the smell of his cologne intoxicates me. “When are you leaving for Paris?”
“After the first of the year.”
“Are you still going to Vegas?”
“No. I’ll call Noelle later and tell her to ask someone else.”
“Give me Las Vegas to show you we belong together.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t and won’t are two very different things, Liri.”
“You’re right, but we both know that if one of us doesn’t stop this madness the cycle will continue.”
“It won’t.”
“We could go to Las Vegas and have a great time maybe. You’d get me to the chapel and in another month or a few weeks something else would happen. That’s not what I want, and you shouldn’t either.”
“I want to be with you.”
“I know.” I press my lips to his. “Je te veux.”
His hands smooth over my belly under my shirt, and I want to cry because he’ll never know this baby. He’ll never touch this body again.
“Let me spend the day with you. I’ll help you pack even. Please don’t make me leave right now.”
“Fine. But the door is getting opened.”
“Okay.” I stroke my fingers through his hair one last time, and a lonely tear slides down his cheek.
I open the door wide needing the reminder my mother and Cooper are here, so I won’t do anything stupid.
I go back to the closet finishing filling up my box. Killian goes over the dresser and starts tossing my socks in the other box. I go out for more boxes. Mom watches me closely me, and I give her a sad smile. Killian starts packing the boxes out to the truck wordlessly with Cooper.
“He’s really got that little boy lost look down, doesn’t he?” Mom observes.
“Yeah, but even Peter Pan had to grow up.”
“We’re almost done here. Did you have plans for dinner? You’re welcome to eat with Cooper and me at the hotel.”
“I’m going to take Killian to dinner.” Tears well up as the finality hits me. My side of the closet is empty.
“You sure that’s a good idea, sweetie?”
“No, but I think we both need to say goodbye and let go. I want him to be happy.”