I moved around the empty apartment, reminiscing about all the good times. To think I was so scared to make the first move, fearing I might lose her, when in reality—I never had her in the first place.

I knew what I had to do, but I didn't want to admit it to myself, let alone her. There was a jiggling at the door that caught my attention.

The door creaked open. "Hi," I said.

"Hi," Ella replied softly.

"I was just leaving."

"No. I'll be in my room. I'll leave you alone," she said, heading to her room.

Quickly, I grabbed onto my door knob, when the doorbell rang.

Oh my goodness. Please don't be Jay.

I tried to get to the door first, but Cooper beat me to it.

He opened the door to find a messenger standing on the other side with a manila envelope and a clipboard, which he handed to Cooper, and said, "Please sign for this."

Cooper signed, took the envelope, and read the writing on the front. "It's for you," he said handing me the envelope.

Slowly, I pulled the flap open and pulled out a plane ticket. The note that came with the ticket read:

I quickly stuck the note back into the envelope, hoping that he hadn't seen it.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Nothing," I whispered.

"That's fine—it's none of my business. You are none of my business anymore," he said, scooping up his duffel bag.

"But—"

"Oh, and I'm moving out," he said sternly, grazing past me, headed to his room.

My jaw dropped at the news. Monster snuggled up to my legs, purring as I stood there paralyzed.

How could I be so naïve?

I wanted to run to Cooper's door and beg for his forgiveness…for another chance. But before I could, my phone rang.

Slowly, and still looking at Cooper's door, I pulled it from my purse. "Hello?"

"Hey beautiful, I have an hour before my next meeting, can I stop by to pick you up?"

"You don't have to. I know what a busy schedule you have," I whispered, hoping Cooper wouldn't hear.

"No. I want to."

Anxiety filled me, wondering if I should go or stay and try to hash things out with Cooper, who apparently wanted nothing to do with me.

"Yeah, I'll be outside in a few minutes," I said, deciding that I was going to tell him it wasn't going to work out, and that I wasn't going to Paris.

I picked up the ticket and my purse, and hurried downstairs.

As I waited for Jay's limo to show up, I looked up at Cooper's bedroom window, wishing I knew what to say to get him to stay. A tear rolled down my cheek, which I wiped away before Jay showed up.

A few moments later, the limo pulled up to the curb and Jay popped out of the back before his driver could even put the car in park.

"Hi," he said, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek.

"What did you wanna do?" I asked, smiling, trying to hide my hurt.

"Let's go take a walk in the park. I haven't been there since high school, and since I'm leaving tomorrow, I wanted to stop by and see the old place," he said, grasping onto my wrist, leading me into the limo.

The drive over to the park was short and palpable. At least for me, it was. I spent the entire ride over wondering what I would say. The driver dropped us off at the curb, and after getting out, Jay put his arm around me, which felt surprisingly uncomfortable. This was the man I had always wanted, and his touch alone made me feel like I was cheating on Cooper.

"Did you get the ticket I sent you?" he asked.

"Yes I did, thank you."

"Well?"

"Umm, I'm still trying to figure out if I wanna go," I said as looked out at the grassy hills.

"You don't know? What's holding you back?"

I didn't reply.

"It's Paris. Who wouldn't want an all-expense paid trip to the most romantic city in the world?"

I stopped walking and turned to him. "I don't think it's the place; I think it's the person," I said, looking at the ground.

"I don't understand. I thought we had something going on? Is there someone else?"

"Well—there wasn't—but now there is."

"Since yesterday?" he asked, understandably confused.

"It's my roommate, Cooper."

"The rheumatologist?"

"No, he's just my roommate, and I need to come clean. He's the doctor, and I'm just a file clerk," I said, awaiting his reaction.

"So you lied to me?" he asked, looking away from me toward the street.

"Yes, but—"

"Is that why you asked about being a waitress?" he asked, interrupting me mid-sentence.

I nodded.

"I thought we had something special. Why would you think that you needed to lie to me?" he asked, still looking toward the street.

"When you mentioned that the help was easily paid to do anything you wanted, I didn't wanna tell you that I was a file clerk, so I lied and said the first thing that came to my mind… a doctor."

He shook his head.

I continued trying to explain my actions. "I had this grand idea of you in my head ever since high school—that you were this perfect man, and no one would ever come close to you. It has blinded me from what I already had in my life. Someone who loved me unconditionally; someone who I just realized I loved, too. I just never knew it."

He put his hands in pockets and shifted his gaze back over to me. "Do you know how hard it is for me to open up to somebody? Like really open up?"

"I'm so sorry for lying to you, but I was ashamed, and I didn't think you would accept me as is," I said, shifting my gaze toward my feet in shame.

"When we danced at the reunion, I didn't know if you were a doctor or a janitor, I was attracted to you—not a letters attached to the end of your name. But you shouldn't have lied to me. Lying is the one thing I have a hard time getting past. I guess we'll never know if we could've worked out," he said, visibly upset.

"I understand," I said, pulling the ticket out of my purse, handing it back to him.

"No you keep it, consider it a gift," he said, pushing the ticket back toward me.

He wiped away a tear rolling down my cheek. "You know, I looked you up in the yearbook, and I finally remember who you are."

"You do?" I whispered, looking down at my feet again, the insecurities rolling in like a tidal wave.

"You're not that girl anymore. You need to leave her behind. You're so beautiful, and whoever this Cooper is, he's one lucky guy."

I wiped away a tear. "He won't even give me the time of day now. He's been around all these years, and when I finally realize that I love him, what do they say—a day late and a dollar short?"

He chuckled. "You know men and women aren't that different. We all have feelings, and those damn things get hurt. I'm sure he'll come around. I know I would."

I looked up at his beautiful smile, and couldn't help but smile myself.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the time. "I'm late! I have to go, are you going to be okay?" he asked, taking a step toward his car.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine," I said, patting him on the chest.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you, Ms. Anderson. It was so good to see you, and who knows, maybe we can give it another go at our twenty-year reunion—if the rheumatologist doesn't work out, that is," he said as he kissed the back of my hand.

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

"Now go, before your staff has a heart attack."

"Yeah, especially now that I know you can't give them CPR." He chuckled.

"Funny!" I said sarcastically.

I watched as he jogged back to the limo, pulling the ringing phone out of his pocket. After he jumped into the backseat, we made eye contact one last time as he pulled off. I waved, watching him disappear around the corner. And with that, I finally had closure to that chapter in my life.