Page 67 of Running to You

Even Mom had agreed to the sale—at the time—though she conveniently forgot that part when the new owners fired all of the company’s employees, Eliza included.

Sam had warned her it might happen. The new owner had refused to sign a deal contingent on keeping the current staff but had assured them both that he had no plans to make any changes on that front.

Sam had trusted the buyer, and Eliza had trusted Sam.

Mom’s “I told you so” still rang in her ears.

As did her constant insistence that Eliza not get involved with Sam. “Men like that’ll break your heart.”

Men like that. Meaning handsome and successful, with the reputation of a playboy. The most-eligible-bachelor type. What would a man like that want with boring Eliza?

Eliza had been sure Sam wasn’t the man Mom thought. That he’d be strong and steady like Dad had been. Like Sam’s dad still was.

Turned out Mom was right about that one too. Though Eliza had no memory of it, she could imagine the speech Mom had given her heartbroken daughter after the breakup.

Every time Eliza defied her mother, her world blew up.

And sometimes people got hurt. Not just Eliza, but people she loved.

Sometimes, people died.

What had she done to cause the mess she was in now? Something Mom had warned her against, and Jeanette too. She might not know the details, but she figured it was her fault.

Like last night’s kiss.

If only she could lie in bed all day. Avoid Sam for the rest of her life. How could she face him after what had happened? After he’d so thoroughly rejected her?

But it was after eight, and he was moving around downstairs. Putting it off wasn’t going to help.

She showered, letting the warmth soothe her still-sore body, and tried to wash away the evidence of her tears. Then she took her time fixing her hair with the blow dryer she’d found beneath the sink. Her hair was longer than she’d ever worn it, falling to halfway down her back, and took forever to get dry. The long, straight hair, combined with her gaunt, sunken cheeks, was not attractive. Maybe if she could curl it, but Colton hadn’t stocked the place with curling irons.

When all this was over, she’d cut it back to the medium-length style she’d worn before. Meanwhile, she needed to put on some weight.

At least she could restore something of what she’d lost.

An hour after she’d opened her eyes, she took a deep breath for courage and walked downstairs.

Standing on the far side of the kitchen island, Sam looked up from his laptop. “Morning.”

“Hey.” She didn’t walk all the way into the room but froze near the dining room table. “I want to apologize again for—”

“It’s fine.” He lifted a hand to punctuate his words. “Let’s not.”

“Can I just explain?”

His lips slid into a smirk, but he leaned a hip against the bar and crossed his arms. “This ought to be good.”

She flinched at his sarcasm and fought the urge to flee. “I know it’s been five years for you. But for me, it feels like we’re still together. Or should be. And…I guess it’s not as easy for me to get past our breakup as it was for you.”

“You think it was easy?”

His volume had her taking a step back.

“It wasn’t easy, Eliza. It was…” He pulled in a deep breath. Blew it out. “I get your point.” The flash of emotion he’d shown was shuttered behind the cold expression he’d worn for days. “It’s fine. I forgive you. Please just…don’t do anything like that again.”

As if she hadn’t learned her lesson.

He headed for the stove. “Eggs?”