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Back First Comes Love Save as PDF
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

Diego is still blocking the door, so I wait for him to step aside. He doesn’t.

“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?”