Becca went through the motions of feeding Otto and filling the bowls on her back patio. With winter coming, the level of dread over keeping the food and water available for the strays had risen.

In fact, everything made her cranky lately. Or sad. Or desperate. Nothing in her life was the same without Andrew, and the sight of the clothes she’d bought on his company’s credit card mocked her from their hangers in her closet.

Worse was when she had to wear something from that collection to her new job at the Mayor’s office. She hated this job, but it did pay well, and she did need the income. Or maybe she just needed something to occupy her time, keep her busy so she wouldn’t be able to spend hours thinking about Andrew and what he was doing at Springside.

She kept her eye on the news so she’d know when the first SonarBots went out in the field, as she had personally promised the media and the Mayor that they’d be the first to know. In fact, they were supposed to be able to be on-site when it sent it’s first sonar emissions into the rocks.

But a week passed, then two, and finally three and nothing hit the headlines. Maybe there had been a complication. Maybe with the worsening weather, Andrew had decided to wait until spring to try the new technology. They’d spoken of that once, briefly, when the timelines to SonarBot usage had been outlined.

She missed her meetings in Andrew’s office, the sly touch of his hand on hers when they exchanged a folder. The quick glances that promised dinner—and kissing—later.

Someone set something on her desk, jolting her out of her memories. Or maybe her misery. She looked up into Raven’s eyes.

“You missed lunch.” Her best friend wore a look of concern mixed with compassion. “I called you three times.”

Becca turned over her phone, which was on silent. She didn’t even know what time it was, but she saw now that it was almost one-thirty, and she was supposed to meet Raven an hour ago.

Guilt filled her, and her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Raven.”

“It’s fine. I brought you the barbecue chicken salad.” Raven sat in the empty desk beside Becca’s. “When are you going to call him and tell him you made a mistake?”

Raven opened the Styrofoam container to lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, and all that delicious grilled barbecue chicken. “I’m not going to call him. We aren’t meant to be.”

Raven snorted, but Becca ignored her. “You’re delusional.”

“Why? Because I’ve been proven right once again? Men don’t stick around for long, and he’s one of the best men—” Her voice choked and she cut herself off.

“You guys were great together. I’m sure he’s miserable too.” Raven covered Becca’s hand with one of her own. “It’s obvious you still love him.”

Love him? Becca snorted and started laughing. “I’m not in love with him.” She was terribly lonely at night, that was for sure. She had no passion for this job. And she just wanted to eat her salad and go back to reading…whatever she was supposed to be reading.

Raven stood. “Well, I have to get back to work, but I think you should call him.”

He’d called her once, and she hadn’t even answered with a hello. Of course, he had yet to apologize for calling her one of the most annoying women on the planet, or insinuating that no one could like her for long.

She tried to push the insults out of her mind, but they never went far. And today, as Raven patted her hand once more and left, the things Andrew had said—whether to get his general manager off his back or not—shouted through her mind.

She pushed the chicken salad away, though it was one of her favorite foods. She had no appetite anymore, as Andrew seemed to infect every aspect of her life.

She didn’t remember feeling this way after Jarom had broken up with her. Or anyone else for that matter, probably because none of those dates had ever really turned into a relationship.

But Becca knew that everything had its opposite. Light and darkness. Pleasure and pain. She thought she’d known the opposite of joy was misery, but she hadn’t. Not until now.

Now, she knew what true misery felt like, and she couldn't help but wonder if she’d experienced true joy when she was with Andrew. And now that she wasn’t….

She reached for her phone and texted Raven. How do I just call him? What do I even say?

You say, I love you. I’m sorry. Want to bring me dinner? Raven included a smiley face emoji with her text, and Becca wondered if she could just copy and paste her text into a new message for Andrew.

“Becca?” Mayor Berry stood at her desk, and Becca jerked to attention, stumbling as she stood.

“Yes, sir.”

“Why didn’t we get notice about the SonarBot?”

Confusion rushed through her. “What are you talking about?”

He pointed to the television in the corner, which played constantly, the sound muted. The screen showed the SonarBot rumbling along the rocks, with the newscaster’s head in the top right corner. The captions, though delayed, got the message across just fine.

“…this inauguration of the single most advanced piece of technology to come to the mining industry ever.”

“Turn it up,” she said, navigating through the maze of desks. She reached the TV and dragged a chair underneath it, pressing the volume button so they could hear in real time.

Andrew’s face came on the screen, and he wore a smile the size of Texas. It was so fake, Becca wanted to scoff in disgust, as she’d done before. But now she knew the man behind that false grin, knew how much it hurt him to put it on his face, and knew how tired it made him.

“It’s a great day,” he said, as if he’d won a million dollars. “I can’t wait to see the SonarBot in action.” But he’d already seen it.

The camera panned to include Graham, who wore a look of happiness and anxiety, and Becca wished she’d had more time to get to know Andrew’s family. She felt like she would’ve fit in great with them.

The interviews continued, even as the Mayor’s office started getting dozens of phone calls.

“I don’t know,” she said to Mayor Berry. “Andrew didn’t call you?”

“No,” he said, his powerful features crunched in confusion. And anger. “He said—you said you guys would call.”

“I don’t work there anymore.” Obviously. But she still wanted to stand by all her promises.

“Where are they?” he asked an advisor who approached with a phone at each ear. “Can I make it in time?”

“They’re way over in Douglas,” the man said. “I have the chopper pilot on the line. He says he can get us there in a couple of hours.”

The Mayor looked at the television, frustration and fury on his face. “We won’t make it.” He turned away. “Get me Andrew Whittaker on the phone as soon as possible.” He stormed into his office and slammed the door. Becca flinched, feeling the reverberation all the way down in her stomach.

Andrew had broken his promise. Why?

Not only had he alienated the mayor of his own town, but he’d broken the trust he’d worked to achieve. And he’d made her look bad too.

He has to have a good reason, she thought. But she couldn’t think of one. In fact, her brain could hardly come up with solutions at all.

She pulled out her phone and called his office, knowing he wasn’t there. “Hello, Andrew Whittaker’s office,” Carla said.

“Hello,” she said. “Is Andrew in?”

“I’m afraid not.” Carla actually sounded sorry about it too. “May I take a message for him?”

“This is Becca,” she said, almost adding “from the mayor’s office,” but she pulled those words back. “I’m wondering when he’ll be back in town.”

“Oh, Becca.” Carla sounded a bit surprised. “He’s scheduled to be back the day after tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Carla.”

“Do you want to meet with him?”

Desperately, Becca thought but again kept silent. “Mayor Berry would like to, but I’m still working on his availability.”

“Well, let me know, hon. I—the office isn’t the same without you here.”

Becca almost hung up, but something in Carla’s tone made her pause. “What do you mean? I was only there a few weeks.”

“And Andrew calmed right down,” Carla said. “He’s back to the highly anxious man he was before you showed up.”

“I’m sorry,” Becca said, wishing she didn’t apologize for things that weren’t her fault. “It was a tough job for me.”

“I understand. Maybe we could still go to lunch?”

“Sure, Carla. Anytime.” She did end the call then, and she wished she could go waltzing into the cafeteria at Springside and eat with Carla. She’d even wear heels if she had to.

Her chest pinched, but she had one more phone call to make. He was obviously still busy, but he owed the mayor an explanation.

She expected the call to go to his voicemail on the first ring, as he never kept his phone on when he was expecting to be on camera or speaking to a crowd. She stared at his face on the TV while she said, “Andrew, I’m looking at you while the SonarBot is gearing up to send a pulse into the rocks outside Douglas. Mayor Berry is wondering why he was not invited, and frankly, so am I. Please call me back at your earliest convenience.”

She hung up, a smile on her face for the first time in weeks.