I only go out to the hallway because I don’t want to bring the fight I’m about to have with Anna into my brother’s room.

She’s standing about twenty feet away, her arms clasped tightly around her. Her head is lowered, her gaze somewhere near the floor. She looks small and vulnerable. And a little scared.

My gut twists. Because I’ve missed her like hell. And fuck, she looks even more beautiful than I remember her in my mind. But I’m so fucking angry that she’s come here. This shit with my brother is hard enough, but the only silver lining of being here was that I was far away from Springville and her. I don’t want her here. I don’t want her anywhere near me.

I march up to her, every muscle in my body tense in an effort to keep myself in control. She turns when she hears me, with a look of hope that quickly melts when she sees the anger on my face.

“What the hell are you doing here, Anna?” I say through clenched teeth.

“I…” She starts, her voice low and shaky. Anna swallows and her eyes meet mine. “I wanted to be here for you, Mason.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snarl, loud enough it’s almost a shout. “What the fuck could I possibly want you here for?”

Anna flinches and takes a step back. I almost feel bad.

“I…” Her eyes fill with tears. “I shouldn’t have come,” she chokes, her voice cracking.

“Damn straight you shouldn’t have come!” I just barely manage not to send my fist into the wall next to her. “What the hell were you thinking? That I’d care if the paparazzi could get some pictures of my devoted fiancée at my brother’s bedside, to kill the rumors that this is all a sham?” My laugh is harsh, bitter. “You’ve already fucked this up, Anna. Don’t try to fix it now.”

“I know!” Anna’s crying now. Tears are streaming down her face, and it’s making me sick and also happy to know that I put them there. “I know I didn’t do the right thing, Mason! I know I screwed everything up! But I was trying! I was thinking about you, wanting to make sure everything kept going so well for you! Yes, I was stupid to do it!” Her voice breaks. “But please, if you have to hate me, then hate me for the right reasons! Hate me for being an idiot! Please, please at least don’t hate me because you think I was breaking the story to get ahead!”

Her last word ends in a sob. Anna turns away from me, covering her eyes with one hand. Her shoulders are shaking. And fuck me, I can barely stand not to put my arms around her and comfort her.

I want to hurl another insult at her, but her words have taken a little of the wind out of my sails. I haven’t let myself even consider for a second that Anna didn’t do this for her own gain. My past experiences with the media have taught me better than that. But watching her weep in front of me, she looks so sincere, so completely heartbroken.

She’s just upset because her scheme didn’t work out the way she wanted it to.

But inside, I’m waffling. Because everything I’m seeing right now tells me Anna’s not lying.

“You’re trying to tell me you spilled the beans to Mackenzie only because you were thinking of me?” I sneer. “How very noble of you, Anna.”

“I swear, Mason!” She’s still sobbing, but she squeezes her eyes shut and takes a few deep breaths, then tries again to talk. “I never meant to do anything that would hurt you or your career. I know you don’t believe me, but I was trying to protect you. I was stupid for thinking Mackenzie wouldn’t take the story and run with it. So stupid. But I’m not what you think I am. I’m not a journalist who would sell out someone I care about for a story!” She shakes her head, misery etched in her stricken features. “And maybe I was thinking of myself, too. I don’t know. But I don’t want to be part of any of that anymore. I quit anyway.”

At that announcement, my eyes snap to hers.

“What do you mean?” I squint at her in suspicion.

“I quit at WSPR,” she repeats.

Holy shit. It sounds like she’s serious. “Really?” There’s less of an edge in my voice than I want there to be. “What will you do?” I ask grudgingly.

“I don’t know.” Her breath hitches and she shrugs, looking despondent. “Maybe I’ll move back home to Nebraska. I know my dad will take me in. Maybe I can start fresh there.”

For a moment, she’s still. But then a tremble goes through her body, and I grow alarmed when I see tears start to fall down her cheeks again.

But then, it truly hits me that Anna is seriously thinking about leaving.

“Why would you leave Springville?” I murmur. “Why not just try to find another job, at another station?”

“Because I don’t want to be in Springville without being with you.” Anna’s wet eyes meet mine. “Anyway, I don’t want to be a reporter anymore, I don’t think. At least, not like this. Not when it’s all about screwing over other people to get ahead.” She sighs. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s for the best that I go back home, to take care of my dad before he can’t take care of himself anymore. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”

She sniffles again, then digs in her bag for a tissue. She wipes at her eyes, then starts to twist it nervously in her hands.

I watch her, struggling to process everything she’s just said. I don’t know how I feel.

I’ve been so focused on hating Anna for days. On telling myself what a fucking fool I was to fall in love with her. Because I am in love with her. Goddamnit, I am. Even now, still half-angry and not knowing what the fuck to do or say. And I don’t know how to change that, as much as I’ve wanted to.

Although I’m not so sure I want to anymore.

“Anna. Why are you here? Why did you come to Denver?” My voice comes out a little hoarse. I lean against the wall I wanted to punch a minute ago, and shove my fists into my pockets.

Anna glances quickly at me, the thinnest light of hope in her eyes, but she just as quickly looks away.

“When I heard about Derek in the news, and I texted you and you didn’t respond… well…” She takes in a shaky breath, then swallows a couple of times before continuing. “I figured you really didn’t want to talk to me. So I decided to leave you alone. It was Harriet who convinced me to try one more time to talk to you. She suggested that I should call around to hospitals in Denver. Eventually I managed to find out where Derek was.”

“Harriet convinced you?” I say in surprise. “I didn’t think she liked me.”

“I’m not sure she does,” Anna replies, her lips quirking up just the tiniest bit. “But she cares about me. And she knows how I feel about you.”

Her last words are a whisper. They pierce through my heart, almost painfully. I don’t say anything.

“When I called the hospital, they connected me to Derek’s room and your mom answered.” She looks over at me, an apology on her face. “Please don’t be mad at her for letting me come,” she begs. “I told her everything. I mean, obviously she knew about the arrangement between us. But I told her what happened with Mackenzie. And that even though I was faking being your fiancée, I wasn’t faking how I felt about you, at all.” Her voice cracks again. “And that, until I screwed everything up, I thought maybe that was how you felt about me, too.”

“Anna. You know it was.” I rasp, my voice hoarse.

It still is, I want to say. But I don’t.

She nods sadly and looks down. “I know. Your mom said she thought as much, as soon as she and your dad saw us kissing in the parking lot that day at Angelo’s. Anyway, I guess that convinced her I was telling her the truth about not leaking the story on purpose. She told me the address of the hospital, and Derek’s room number. I swear I asked for her permission before I came, Mason. I didn’t want to make things worse for your family.” Her voice softens. “But I guess I did.” Anna shakes her head and looks into my eyes. “I’ll leave, now. I just wanted to tell you face to face how sorry I am. For everything.” She takes a deep breath. “And I hope your brother gets better soon.”

Anna turns to go, but I reach out and grab her arm to stop her. She freezes at my touch.

I take another step even closer. She shifts in place, but doesn’t move, though she doesn’t look up either. With just a couple steps between us, I stop. I want her to look up at me, but I won’t force her.

“You don’t need to go anywhere, Anna.”

Other than back to my hotel room with me, I think, but I decide I can tell her that later, after she calms down.

That earns me a quick, furtive glance. “I don’t want to intrude. I know this is about your family right now.” Anna nods toward Derek’s room.

“Yeah.” I give her a serious frown. “So it’s about time you got here.”

Anna doesn’t understand. Her eyes search my face in confusion.

“Well,” I say slowly. “You’re my fiancée, right? So you’re family.”

There’s another sniffle as her brow furrows. “But…” She trails off as I grab her hand and lift it up between us. I’m glad to see the ring is still there.

“This fiancé of yours,” I say, voice falling quiet. “I understand he’s a star football player, right?”

“But…”

“There are no buts,” I growl low in my throat. “That is, if you will have him?”

I wait, holding my breath for her verdict.

I’m done with regrets.

She sniffles again, and smiles up at me. “Why don’t you let me think about it?”

She pauses. I count two seconds, before she jumps at me, arms flung tight around my neck. My own arms are ready, wrapping around her waist and holding her close.

“Let’s start again, Mason,” she whispers.

I tighten my arms around her and let that be my answer.