She looked away, a sag to her shoulders. “I just don’t think it’s fair that you get to walk away and not have to think about Long Acre anymore.”

He scoffed. “You honestly think I don’t think about it? Come on, Kincaid. Moving on with my life doesn’t mean I’m heartless. What happened here is burned into me, always there. There’s no forgetting. Even if I wanted to.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “So what was your big what-if?”

“My what?”

“Your what-if. About prom night. We all have them.”

“Kincaid,” he warned.

“No, I want to know,” she said, determination in her gaze. “If you think about it so much, you must have a few.”

His throat felt dry even after swallowing a big gulp of coffee. He didn’t know if he could answer that question. There were too many what-ifs he’d gone through over the years. But as he sat there, one floated up to the top. What if I’d never fallen in love with you?

“What if I’d skipped prom?” he said instead. Even though that wasn’t his main one, it was a valid one. He’d wondered countless times what would’ve happened if he’d stuck with his original plan and hadn’t gone that night. If he hadn’t seen what he’d seen. If he hadn’t made the decision he had.

Would Graham still be alive? Would Kincaid now be married to him with a house full of kids? Would she be happy?

Ash would never know those answers.

She gave him an unimpressed look. “Not a very original one, writer boy.”

“I didn’t know we were being graded on creativity.”

She set aside her coffee and grabbed the candy bar, picking absently at the wrapper. “I don’t ask that one. I never would’ve skipped prom. That wasn’t a what-if for me.”

“What’s yours then?” he asked, unable to stop himself. “No, let me guess. What if Ash would’ve taken the bullet instead of Graham?”

Her gasp was audible in the quiet hum of the empty waiting room. “Jesus, Ash.”

His jaw flexed. “What? You’re saying you never had that thought? It’s one of my what-ifs.”

Hurt flashed over her face. “Is that really what you believe I’d wish for? You think I could ever hate you that much?”

He turned his head, unable to keep looking at her. She could, would, if she remembered how that night had really gone. “I don’t know what to think.”

She let out a heavy sigh, and after a long pause, she placed a segment of Almond Joy on top of his jean-clad thigh, sharing like she used to do when they were kids. Halfsies were always the deal with candy bars. “Well, you’re an idiot. I hate how things went down with us. I hate how things are now. And of course I wish Graham were still here. But I would never, ever wish it were you instead. What you’re forgetting is that I loved you both. You were my best friend, Ash. I wanted a world with both of you in it. Turns out, I ended up with one that has neither.”