“Please don’t go,” he says.

“I have to.”

Without another word, he steps out of the way, leaving the exit free. I pause on the threshold and turn back toward him. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Diego says nothing. He doesn’t even look at me as I walk out of the room.

Twenty

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Outside, it has started snowing. I trudge my way to the rental car and start the engine to get the car warm while I rid the windshield of ice. There’s a pit of anguish in my stomach. Partly for the mess I’ve created with Julia and Paul, but mostly for the hurt look on Diego’s face as he begged me not to go.

I wish I could’ve stayed and talked to him, or listened to what he was saying, but right now finding Paul has to be my priority. Diego can wait for an hour; he’s already so mad at me, it won’t make much of a difference. I’ve screwed up, big time. But even if I haven’t been one hundred percent honest with him, he must know how I feel about him after last night. Once the initial shock has passed, he will forgive me.

If how Julia and Paul started dating isn’t relevant, the same is true for Diego and me. Feelings matter; the rest is dust in the wind.

When the windshield is clear enough, I hop in the car and pull off the road, not sure where I’m headed. Where did Paul go? He could’ve gone straight back to New York, but knowing him, I doubt it. Paul isn’t that impulsive; I don’t see him driving away to the city without a word to anyone. He must’ve gone searching for a quiet place to think and I know exactly where to look. No point in calling him, he wouldn’t pick up.

Driving slowly in the sudden blizzard, I head for the coast. I pass a few panoramic pull-over spots without success, before spotting Paul’s gray SUV sitting alone in the parking lot overlooking Harvey’s Beach. I pull up next to him, get out of the car, and knock on his passenger window.

Paul turns toward me, startled. He must recognize me even through the condensation-covered glass, because he leans forward to open the passenger door for me. I hop in, glad to escape the biting wind that’s whipping the coast.

“How did you find me?” Paul asks.

“The ocean. You always come near the water when you have to think. At NYU, I could always find you by the Hudson after a breakup.”

Paul snorts. “Julia had no clue where to go, did she?”

“That’s not fair, Paul, I have ten years of knowing you on her.”

He stares back out the windshield at the dark sea. “Why are you here?”

“To bring you back home. You and Julia need to talk… Clear things up.”

“Why?”

“Because you love each other, and a stupid argument shouldn’t—”