There. That was a start. With Oliver, we had to start small. And small meant figuring out how soon I had to say goodbye to him. Whatever happened, I wanted to be prepared. I had grown attached to seeing him at Marie’s and to our little rituals. I had become addicted to his soft kisses and the way he looked in his snowboarding jacket. Theoretically, he was a fling and this phase of my life was fleeting. But regardless, I still needed to know just how fleeting it was. I needed to prepare myself. This goodbye was going to be a lot harder than I wanted to let myself believe.

“I don’t know.”

His words flattened the optimistic anticipation blooming in my chest.

As if noticing my crestfallen face, Oliver gave a small shake of his head. “I’ve been trying nonstop to think about what’s next for me.” He sighed and dropped his hands from my face. “But nothing feels right. None of it feels like what I want to do.”

“You just got here. Maybe you haven’t stayed in Key Ridge long enough to figure out what you want your next move to be.” The hopefulness in my voice made me want to puke. I wasn’t the romantic in the family. That was reserved for Mattie. Right now, though, I wanted to say anything and everything that would get Oliver to consider staying. Just for a little while longer. We’d barely had any time together in the grand scheme of life.

“I don’t know what I’m doing next,” he finally said. “I don’t know if I’m leaving… But I don’t want to. Not yet.”

The last words reignited the hope within me, but I didn’t dare look too excited.

“Good,” I said simply.

That got him to shake his head and let out a low chuckle. “That’s all you have to say?”

I shrugged and put my best “unaffected look” on my face. “I think you should stay. No point in leaving if you haven’t figured out what you want next. And no better person to help you figure that out than someone who obsessively plans for her future.” I waved to myself.

Before I could continue on my tirade, Oliver slipped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled my face to his, kissing me. His smell always overwhelmed me anytime he was this close. I wasn’t sure when I would get used to him. Butterflies still fluttered every time he touched me, and it didn’t look like that would be going away any time soon.

When he pulled away after a minute, I licked my lips breathlessly. He stayed, his face hovering close to mine. He tugged a piece of hair that framed my face and shook his head.

“It’s okay to just say you’ll miss me, you know,” he said.

I let out a surprised laugh, and he rewarded me with another kiss before pulling back.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I said, not wanting to admit to myself how much truth there was in his words. I nervously leaned away from him and started to eat the crackers he’d produced from the cabinet a minute ago. “You know this is a sad excuse for a snack, right?” I held it up in disapproval.