AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She looked up at him. “I need to see her,” she said. “I need to—I need to say goodbye.”
His expression solemn, he nodded. “Okay, Luce. We’ll see her together.”
She closed her eyes in relief. As independent as she was, his presence strengthened her.
“Thank you, Jamie,” she said.
It wasn’t the last time she’d say those words to him that night. She said it after they saw Gail’s lifeless form and Lucy said her final goodbye. She said it after Jamie spoke with her mother and father, then guided her through the process of getting her back home. When the car got to Lucy’s apartment building, she turned to him to say thank you yet again, as well as goodbye, but he simply guided her out of the car, picked her up in his arms, and carried her inside. Surprised and feeling too weak to resist, she leaned her head against his chest.
By the time Jamie tucked her into bed, she was practically asleep.
“I’m going to sleep on the couch,” he said.
But before he could walk away, she somehow managed to ask, “Can you stay here? Just for a while longer?”
He looked back at her. Hesitated. Then nodded. “Of course.”
He kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed with her. As she shifted to turn on her side, he pulled her close so that he was spooning her back. She felt him kiss her temple.
“I’ve missed you, Jamie. I’m so glad we’re still friends.”
“Me, too, sweet thing,” he said. “Me, too.
She let out a shuddering sigh. He really was a very nice man. He would make someone a wonderful partner. An excellent husband. But not her, she reminded herself.
Not her.
Seeing her parents—especially her father—had reminded her she could never fit into Jamie’s affluent world. Could never toe the line the way that would be expected. Could never meld into the mold that others would want to put her in.
But despite that knowledge, for the first time in over fifteen years, she wished she could.
