Chapters (58)
- Cover
- Praise for Abbi Waxman and her novels
- Berkley Titles by Abbi Waxman
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Summer
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- Fall
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- EPILOGUE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Readers Guide
- Questions for Discussion
- About the Author
- What’s next onyour reading list?
“I’m going to hang up and call Maggie,” said Polly. “She might know.”
Laura thought back. “She never said which airport, she only said ‘airport.’ ” She spotted JetBlue’s logo, and headed toward the terminal. “I have to park, please try and find out if I’m even in the right place.”
“Got it,” said Polly. “Hanging up.”
“Wait,” said Nina. “You conferenced me—”
And then both of them were gone, and Laura was alone.
FORTY-FIVE
Bob had spent nearly an hour in the security line and wasn’t sure he’d moved more than six inches. He found himself thinking about Laura, and wishing he’d been able to say goodbye in person. He’d waited as long as he could, but she was helping at the bookstore, and he knew she wouldn’t leave until it was finished.
That was the thing with her. She did what she said she would. You could count on her. He thought about the curve of her ear, how she tucked her hair behind it. He thought about all the little jewelry she wore, the tiny bugs and butterflies and birds she favored. He looked out of the big windows and saw birds flying low across the runway, and realized that if she were there, she would probably know what they were. Before he’d left, Maggie had encouraged him to tell Laura how he felt, but she’d also understood why he was being patient. They’d both seen how hard it was for Laura, how much effort it took to push through her anxiety and panic. Bob wanted to support her, not add to her stress. He could wait. And he would.
He looked out of the window again. LAX was an enormous airport, and on the water. Storks, herons, shorebirds of all kinds. Burbank was a lot easier to fly out of, though, which was why he’d picked it.
But Laura would prefer the birds at LAX.
• • •
When Polly called Laura back and told her the news, she’d put her head on the steering wheel and cried. She knew intellectually it was silly to be so upset. She could call him, she could FaceTime him, there were any number of ways she could tell him how she felt, and he was going to be home in a couple of months anyway. But she wasn’t sure she’d ever wanted anything as much as she’d wanted to see Bob right then. It was all very well to know something in your head, but if your heart felt differently, it was going to pull rank and bring all the viscera along with it. And once your heart and your tummy set their sights on something . . . forget it.