The next morning, I climbed out of bed and got dressed before grabbing a cup of coffee. I looked around the boat and noticed that Charlie wasn’t anywhere around. Taking my cup to the table, I picked up the white piece of paper that was lying on it.

Rosebud,

I had to go out for a while. I’ll be back later.

That was strange to me. Why would he leave and not take me with him? I sighed as I took my coffee up to the deck. Once I reached it, I stopped and stared at the man who was leaning up against the railing with his arms folded and a small smile upon his face.

“Andrew, what are you doing here?” I asked in shock.

“I came to make sure you were okay. I was worried about you.”

“I’m fine under the circumstances. When did you get here?”

“A little while ago. Charlie left so we could talk. That’s if you’re ready to talk. If not, I could just stand here and wait until you are.” He smirked.

I couldn’t help but smile. He was so handsome standing there in his khaki pants and white cotton button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

“Would you like some coffee?” I asked.

“Coffee sounds good.”

He followed me down to the kitchen, where I poured a cup and handed it to him.

“Let’s go on the deck. I’m ready to talk,” I spoke.

We both walked over to the railing and looked out at the water at the boats that were passing by.

“I know how much of a shock it must have been for you to see Charlie,” he spoke.

“It sure was a shock. In fact, I think it still is,” I spoke as I gripped my coffee cup with both hands.

“Listen, Addison. I’m so sorry for everything, and I don’t blame you if you never forgive me.”

“I just wish you would have told me from the beginning who you really were and about Ellie. Charlie I could sort of understand, but the rest—”

“I know, and I regret everything. I wanted to tell you so badly that I was AJ, but I was afraid you wouldn’t remember me.”

“Andrew.” I looked up at him. “How could I not? We had the most amazing summers together. You were my best friend. I never once forgot about you.”

“The day you left the Hamptons, I knew that would be the last time I’d ever see you again.” He looked down. “We kept going back summer after summer and I hated it. I would sit on the beach and build those damn sandcastles, looking around and hoping that I’d see you running over to me. Things were never the same after that summer.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the seashell he had kept on his desk.

“This was the last shell you gave me,” he spoke. “Do you remember?”

“We gave each other all kinds of shells, Andrew.”

“Right before your mom called you inside that day, you reached into the pocket of your shorts and pulled it out. When you handed it to me, you said, ‘This is our promise shell. Do you promise to always be my friend—'"

“No matter what.” I smiled at him. “I remember.”

“When Charlie came over to our boat when I was sixteen, I just thought he was a cool guy. Then he told me who he was, and like you, I was in shock. It took me a while to even process what he was asking me to do. I did it, Addison, not just for Charlie, but for me as well. It was my chance to see you again. Even though I knew there was no way I could disrupt your life, I still felt close to you. I knew the day would come when we’d be reunited.”

“Andrew, I need you to be honest with me. Did you bring me to New York?”

He stared into my eyes and then looked straight at the water.

“Yes. I had Veronica set it up. Please don’t hate me any more than you already do. I would have hired you anyway, even if we had never met. You’re a very talented architect and LAC is or was very fortunate to have you on board.”

I took in a deep breath.

“I don’t hate you. I could never hate you for what you did for Charlie.”

“But you hate me for what I did to you.”

“Andrew.”

He took in a sharp breath. “I love you, Addison. I’ve always loved you.”

“You’re married,” I spoke as I stared out into the glistening water.

“Only by a stupid piece of paper. It never should have happened. I already explained that to you.”

“But it did,” I spoke as I glanced over at him.

“Does that mean you don’t want to be with me?” he nervously asked.

I swallowed hard at his question.

“Our whole relationship was built on a lie. You understand that, right?”

“Of course I understand that.” He stared at me. “I’m sorry I lied to you and I promise it will never happen again. I wish I could make you understand why I did it. I thought you understood, but apparently not.” His voice grew intense.

“A part of me does understand, and the other part of me doesn’t. You didn’t know how I’d react if you would have told me from the beginning. You just assumed I wouldn’t want anything to do with you and that was the wrong thing to do.”

“I know that, Addison!” He pushed off the railing and paced around the deck. “If I could go back to the beginning and do things differently, I would. I would have told you who I was and I would have told you about Ellie. God!” He placed his hands on his head. “I’m divorcing her. I will make her sign those papers even if I have to give up everything,” he spoke through gritted teeth.

The pain that consumed him was too much to witness. My heart ached and there was nothing I could do to help him.

“Talk to her again, Andrew. Make her see the two of you shouldn’t be together.”

“I’ve tried. I even offered her ten million dollars to start a new life and she refused. She said she didn’t care about the money. She only cared about me. That’s the phone call I got that day you were in my office. Even if you don’t want to see me again, I need your forgiveness. I can’t live knowing you hate me.”

I stood there in silence and stared at him.

“Your silence says it all.” He shook his head. “I’m going to head back to New York. Tell Charlie I said goodbye.” He placed his hands in his pockets and turned and walked away.

As I stood there, I saw the little boy, my best friend, walk away with his head down like he did every summer we had to say goodbye. An overwhelming sadness consumed me.

“Andrew, wait!” I ran after him.

He stopped and turned around.

“I love you.”

A look of relief fell upon his face and I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him.

“Are you sure?” He squeezed me.

“Yes, I’m sure. No more lies, Andrew. I can’t take any more.”

He broke our embrace and placed his hands on each side of my face.

“I promise you that I will never lie to you again. I love you so much and I’m so sorry.” His lips tenderly brushed against mine.

“It’s about time.” Charlie smiled as he stood a few feet from us and clapped his hands.

Andrew and I both laughed as we walked over to him.

“You two good?” he asked.

“We’re good, Dad.” I smiled. “But I think we still have quite a way to go.”

The three of us spent the day and the evening together reminiscing. The next morning, it was time to head back to New York and I wasn’t sure if I could leave him.

“I don’t want to leave you, Charlie,” I spoke as I hugged him.

“I know, Rosebud. But, you can come visit anytime you want. I’ll always be here. In fact, I expect you to visit all the time.”

“I will, but that will be dependent on my job, wherever I’ll be working.”

“You’re coming back to work for my company. You’ll step in exactly where you left off,” Andrew spoke. “And you can take as much time off as you want to come visit Charlie.” He smiled. “Boss’s orders.”