“Holes,” I finally said. “So many holes.”

“Then, you know what to do, sweetheart.” She smiled.

“Yes, but first, I’m going to make him sweat it out for a few days,” I answered with a slight smirk.

“Attagirl.”

If he wouldn’t fight, I would.

Because we deserved a future together. Without holes.

Without regrets.

I stuck to my promise—for the most part.

After about thirty-six hours of family time, watching my parents’ rekindled love for each other… all over the house, I decided it was time to go home.

Funny… that was the first time I’d considered New York home.

I’d packed up my suitcase, kissed my parents on the cheeks, promised to return in a few weeks for Christmas, and boarded a plane for home.

Ready to reclaim my life.

And my man.

But, so far, I hadn’t done either.

I’d had every intention of dropping off my things, marching back out of that apartment, and heading straight for Roman’s, ready to talk some sense into him.

How dare he let me walk away!

I was a damn good catch.

But the minute I’d entered my apartment, the weight of everything that had happened sank back in. Deep into my bones. And I felt the courage and bravery my visit home had instilled in me melting into the floorboards.

The apartment felt different.

Foreign.

I’d always considered the tiny place a consolation prize I’d won fair and square after the less than amicable parting between Tyler and me. But, now, knowing the truth, it suddenly felt all wrong.

Would Tyler have cheated at all if he hadn’t been pushed?

I thought back to all the nights he’d come home late at night, smelling of cheap perfume and expensive booze.

Had Roman just expedited a forgone conclusion? Or had he made Tyler a cheater?

I knew, after my few days of soul-searching in the Midwest, I would have eventually left Tyler, no matter what the reason.

We were wrong for each other.

My feelings for Roman, a man completely Tyler’s opposite, had only proven that further.

Roman had brought out a side of myself that I loved exploring. He’d made me feel daring and beautiful without changing me in the process. Tyler had always been my safe, conventional boyfriend. We’d worked until we hadn’t.

I wasn’t brave enough to admit it.

Tyler had just tried to mold me into someone else.

It had been a disaster in the making. I knew that now. It still hurt to know Roman’s part in it all.

But I hadn’t blindly gone into this relationship. Although I might have fallen for my boss rather hastily, it didn’t mean I was under the foolish impression of what kind of man he was.

I knew him.

All of him.