After she left, I thought about everything we’d said. Maybe Finn and I had given up too soon. My own dating disasters coupled with my idealistic views on what constituted romance had trained me to run at the first sign of scummy behavior. Finn wasn’t a scumbag, not on purpose anyway, but I’d experienced the incident through the lens of my past experiences. It was unrealistic to think he’d handle things beautifully the first time out of the gate. How Finn treated me was wrong, but it wasn’t unforgivable, especially given how amazing he was every day before then. I could promise to exercise more patience moving forward if he’d agree to learn how to be there for his father without alienating or hurting me in the process.

But could he? And more importantly, would he?

I wasn’t ready to talk to him directly yet—my feelings were too raw. At least when I bounced things around with my mom, I knew she wouldn’t hang up on me. Finn might not be open to compromising or even trying to see things through my eyes. If it was his way or the highway, it wouldn’t work. I clucked my tongue, and then it came to me: the ending for my story.

From day one, I looked out for the single, attractive, and eligible bachelor. While I did engage in a face-to-face with someone who met that description, unlike in the movies, there was no love connection. But I’d be lying if I said there was no romance. I didn’t spark with the sexy town doctor (or handyman), but there was someone. In an unexpected twist, I fell for the enemy—the city guy, or rather one of his people. This man welcomed, listened to, encouraged, entertained, and accepted me more than any stranger ever had before. Believe it or not, I fell in love! I’m sad to report, we quickly hit a roadblock we couldn’t get past, and our story ended before it really got started.

But what I realize now is this: Romances always work on television and in books because when conflict arises, there is a set page count or time limit by which it must be resolved so the couple can live happily ever after. Not many real-world relationships could survive if all their problems needed to be solved within two hours or 300 pages. Thankfully, we have the benefit of open-ended deadlines when it comes to love.

In the days since I’ve been back home, I’ve concluded I’m not ready to close the book on Adi and Finn just yet. The right one doesn’t always come prepackaged and fitting like adjacent pieces in a puzzle. Sometimes both parties need to adjust their attitudes and behaviors until they harmonize together. Love doesn’t always look like what we see on TV, but the relationships that take more work are no less special.