Chapters (89)
- Dedication
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ONE
- HENRY
- TWO
- EMMA
- THREE
- HENRY
- FOUR
- EMMA
- FIVE
- EMMA
- SIX
- SEVEN
- HENRY
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- HENRY
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- EMMA
- THIRTEEN
- HENRY
- FOURTEEN
- HENRY
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- EMMA
- SEVENTEEN
- HENRY
- EIGHTEEN
- HENRY
- NINETEEN
- HENRY
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- EMMA
- TWENTY-TWO
- EMMA
- TWENTY-THREE
- HENRY
- TWENTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- TWENTY-FIVE
- EMMA
- TWENTY-SIX
- EMMA
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- HENRY
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- EMMA
- TWENTY-NINE
- HENRY
- THIRTY
- HENRY
- THIRTY-ONE
- HENRY
- THIRTY-TWO
- EMMA
- THIRTY-THREE
- HENRY
- THIRTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- THIRTY-FIVE
- EMMA
- THIRTY-SIX
- HENRY
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- EMMA
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- HENRY
- THIRTY-NINE
- HENRY
- FORTY
- EMMA
- FORTY-ONE
- HENRY
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- EMMA
- FORTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- FORTY-FIVE
- HENRY
- EPILOGUE
- ALSO BY CHELSEA CURTO
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“Tell me why I got a frantic call from my best friend crying on the phone, asking me to come over when I thought she was supposed to be with her new, cool boyfriend and his friends.”
“I didn’t—”
“Did you or did you not flirt with another woman? Did you or did you not touch another woman? Did you or did you not talk about how good another woman looked?”
I wince. “Yeah, I did. I should have stopped and walked away, but I didn’t. I don’t know why. Probably because I’m the world’s biggest moron. I’m learning, Nicole. I’m trying. I don’t know where the boundaries are yet, and tonight I crossed them. I messed up. Now I know. It won’t happen again. I’ve learned the line, and I don’t ever want to cross it again. I swear.”
Her face softens for an instant before she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Go home, Henry. Give her a few days.”
“Okay.” I nod, dejected. Lost. Searching for my way on a road to the middle of nowhere. “Can you… Can you tell her I’m so sorry? That she’s wonderful and I already miss her so fucking much? And I’d be lucky if she ever gave me the time of day because she’s my perfect other half? I’ll do anything… anything at all to have her in my arms again. I wish I wasn’t such a shitty partner. I wish I had decades of experience when it came to dating so I wouldn’t mess up what we’ve created because it’s so fucking special to me. She’s so fucking special to me.”
Nicole waits to answer, staring at me with such laser focus I have to look away. She’s weighing the accuracy of the words, keeping me on pins and needles. Just as I’m about to give up and walk away, she nods once before turning toward the door, going inside and locking me out, the smallest ball of hope disappearing with the closing of the wood.
At the snap of a finger, my world has turned upside down. Crashed and burned. And all I want to do is jump into the flames, too.
What have I done?
FORTY
EMMA
Pain is a tricky, fickle bastard.
You think you have your shit together and then a passing memory, smell, or reminder of what caused the hurt you’re enduring comes roaring back into view, cascading over you like a waterfall and blocking every breath you’re trying to gulp down, struggling to survive and unable to stay afloat. One minute you’re sitting on the couch, laughing at the television, and the next your eyes are puffy, swollen from crying over someone who isn’t worthy of another minute of your time.