He opened the door and picked up her bags. “I’ll take a cab.” He carried her suitcases to her car.

“There’ll be too many people there,” she said, her voice sounding like it was being pushed through a sieve.

Lucas loaded her bags in the backseat, then faced Kate. Her eyes glistened like the surface of the ocean on a sunny day. She didn’t want to say good-bye in front of an audience.

Neither did he. “All right.” He opened the driver’s side door for her.

“I’ll file papers for the . . . divorce. And cover all the costs.” A breeze blew, and dead leaves scuttled past their feet. There was a nip in the air that warned of winter’s approach. “And I’ll send for my treadmill,” she said. “I think I got everything else.”

Including my heart. Did she think she could run from these feelings? Did she think mere miles would separate her from his love?

Lucas studied her face, memorizing the way her eyes looked when she squinted against sun, the way her brows puckered when she frowned. He reached out and smoothed the hair the wind had ruffled, wanting to remember the feel of it between his fingers.

She closed her eyes on a sigh. “I hate good-byes.”

He thought of Emily and how sudden her death had been. He’d always regretted that he hadn’t kissed her that morning when he left for work. He was running late and only called good-bye on his way out the door.

Lucas took Kate’s face in his palm, waiting for her to look at him. If she was going to leave him, she was going to do it with her eyes wide open.

He closed the space between them, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. Her hair smelled of lilacs, and her lips tasted like honey. He wanted to remember everything about her. He wanted to close his eyes at night and be able to summon the feel of her lips on his, the sound of her voice.

Kate pulled away. “Good-bye.”

I’ve lost her, God. This isn’t the way it was supposed to happen. What am I going to do now? I already miss her.

She refused to meet his gaze as she lowered herself into the car and put her keys in the ignition. Refused to look at him as she put the car in Reverse and backed out of the drive. He watched until her car disappeared over the slope in the road, knowing that all that awaited him was a house that would feel empty without her.

His feet felt heavy as he entered the house. Bo, seeming to sense his sadness, nudged his leg, tried to shepherd Lucas toward the couch. But Lucas didn’t want to sit and think. Think about Kate leaving—getting further away by the minute.