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"He wanted to ask you to dinner. All of you." I look at my parents. "He knew how you felt about him, and he was willing to sit there and hear it if it meant we had a chance."

Mom wipes beneath her eye. Dad looks down.

"I told him I wanted him. He still thought leaving was better than making me choose between you."

"Sweetheart," Mom says, reaching toward me.

"Now he’s in Boston, and I haven’t even heard his voice."

She stops.

I look around and remember where we are. The tables, the stage, the people watching a conversation I never meant to have in front of them.

I can’t stay here.

"I’m sorry," I tell Juliet. "The display’s finished. There are more boxes in the back, and Ellie has the schedule."

"Everything is covered," she says. "You don’t need to worry about that. We can handle it from here."

Ellie reaches my side with my bag.

"Come on. I’ll take you home."

Beau says my name again.

I keep walking.

I call Wolf while Ellie gets the van out of the loading space.

Voicemail.

I try again before we reach the end of the block.

"Come on," I whisper.

His recorded voice answers, and I end the call. Ellie doesn’t tell me to stop. She drives with both hands on the wheel, glancing at me when we reach a red light.

"Your place?"

I nod. I don’t know how to explain which apartment I mean.

At The Commons, she walks me to the elevator.

"I can stay," she offers.

"I know. I think I need to be by myself for a little while."

She studies my face, then pulls me into a hug.

"Call me, okay? Even if all you want to do is sit on the phone."

"I will."

I wait until the elevator doors close before pressing Wolf’s floor.

His key is still on my ring. I hold it between my fingers for a second before letting myself in.

The light over the stove is on. My baking schedule is still on the fridge, and my mug sits beside the coffee maker. I left it there because I wasn’t ready to take everything.