A wave of nervousness hit me as I stood outside the restaurant. This was it. I was about to meet the family of the man whose heart had saved my life.

The trip down here had only taken a couple of days. Charlie and I had taken turns driving and stopped at a cheap motel in the middle of nowhere for a night. We’d arrived in Phoenix last night, tired and cramped from so many hours on the road.

A bead of sweat trailed down my back as I opened the door. Cool air-conditioned air wrapped around me when I stepped inside. I hesitated near the front, wondering if the Harpers were here yet. I was a few minutes early. Charlie had stayed behind at the hotel.

I recognized Mrs. Harper the second I saw her. Shoulder-length blond hair. Blue eyes. I’d seen her picture—looked her up on Facebook. She met my eyes and even from across the restaurant, I could see her gasp in a small breath.

A man who looked to be about fifty or so sat across from her. He was lean, in a button-down shirt, his hair mostly gray. He reached across the table and rested his hand on hers.

The other person at the table was a young woman, maybe about my age. She was either Liam’s sister, or his girlfriend. Had to be sister. She looked like their mom—pretty, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a similar mouth.

They all stood as I approached their table. I was several inches taller than Mr. Harper, and a lot thicker, but I was used to being the big guy. I didn’t crowd their space, but stepped close enough to reach out and shake his hand.

“Sebastian McKinney,” I said. Mr. Harper took my hand and shook, introducing himself. I shook Mrs. Harper’s hand, and she introduced me to Olivia. Definitely the sister.

Olivia shook my hand and stared at me, wide-eyed. “Wow, you’re huge. Does my brother’s heart really work in your body, or do you need two of them?”

Mrs. Harper gaped at her daughter. “Olivia.”

“It’s a fair question,” Olivia said. “Look at him.”

“Maybe we should all just have a seat,” Mr. Harper said.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m used to it.”

I sat at the end of the table, with Mr. Harper on my right, Mrs. Harper and Olivia on my left.

“We’re so grateful you were willing to come all this way,” Mrs. Harper said.

“I’m happy to,” I said. “It’s the least I can do.”

A moment of awkward quiet settled over the table. Just as I was about to say something, the waitress came. We gave her our lunch orders—Olivia raised her eyebrows at me when I ordered a salad with grilled chicken—and she left ice waters for each of us.

“So, what was wrong with you?” Olivia asked. “Why did you need a heart?”

It looked like Mrs. Harper was going to apologize for Olivia, but I held up a hand. “It’s fine, really. You can ask me anything. And I figured you’d want to know what happened to me.”

They watched intently as I told my story. I didn’t want to make it sound melodramatic, but I was honest. I left a few things out—particularly Cami. They didn’t need to know about her. Mr. Harper had a lot of questions about my illness, and I did my best to answer. And they all wanted to know how I was doing now. Partway through, the waitress brought our lunches, and I continued talking while we ate.

It made me feel good to be able to tell them I was healthy now. Their son’s heart hadn’t gone to waste.

“What an amazing journey you’ve had,” Mrs. Harper said.

“I don’t really know how to say this and have it come out right,” I said. “I struggle with knowing that my second chance at life brought someone else a lot of pain. But I want you to know how grateful I am.”

Mrs. Harper reached across the table and put her hand over mine. “We’re grateful too. We miss Liam terribly. Nothing will ever take his place. But it helps so much to know that something good came out of that tragedy.”

I nodded, feeling a little choked up. Damn, this was tough. I’d only just met these people, and I felt like I’d known them my whole life. Like they were somehow my family, too.

Tears rolled down Olivia’s cheeks and she wiped them away. “Oh my god. This is the craziest thing. I’m so pissed Brooke isn’t here. She really needs to meet you.”

“Maybe she’s just running late,” Mrs. Harper said.

“Doubt it,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Harper said. “Brooke was Liam’s fiancée. We invited her to join us, and she said she’d be here. We actually haven’t seen her for quite some time.”

“I don’t blame her,” I said. “If I were in her shoes, I don’t think I’d want to meet me either.”

Mr. and Mrs. Harper exchanged a sad look.

“I wish I’d have done more for her,” Mrs. Harper said.

“Grief can make it hard to do the right thing for the living,” Mr. Harper said. “We did our best at the time.”

“Yeah, Mom, you need to stop beating yourself up about her,” Olivia said. “It’s not your fault.”

“You’re right, I know,” Mrs. Harper said. “We’ll give her more time. Maybe she’ll still come.”

They asked me more questions and the conversation lightened. They wanted to know about Iowa, and my family. Turned out Mr. Harper was a sports fan, and he chimed in with more questions. I told them about losing to Charlie junior year. How we’d become friends after I’d gotten sick, and how he’d come to Phoenix with me.

Then we talked about Liam. I wanted to know all I could about the man, but I hadn’t been sure if they’d want to talk about him. But rather than being sad or somber, their reminiscing was filled with fondness. They brought out some pictures. Told me what he’d been like as a kid. The sports he’d played as he got older. About meeting in Brooke in high school, and how she’d eventually come to live with them.

We ate and talked and even laughed. I loved hearing about Liam, and the more we talked about him, the more the sadness seemed to lift.

When our meal was finished, and the server had cleared our plates, Mrs. Harper reached out and touched my hand again. “Thank you, Sebastian. This meant so much to us.”

“Me too, Mrs. Harper,” I said. “I’m really glad I got to meet all of you.”

As we said our goodbyes, the Harpers all glanced toward the front door several times. Probably hoping Brooke would show at the last minute.

I couldn’t explain why, but I hoped so too. Every time they’d mentioned her name, I’d felt a tightness in my chest. A tingling in my limbs. Like a foreboding, a sense that something was about to happen. But she hadn’t come, and I was filled with an inexplicable sense of disappointment. I had no idea why. I didn’t know her. I had no reason to be so concerned.

But I was. I was filled with unease. Why hadn’t she come? Was it simply that she’d decided it would be too difficult to meet me? That was understandable. But I couldn’t get rid of the sense that something deeper was wrong. Not as we finished up our conversation, talking about meeting again, maybe in Iowa this time. Not as we stood and exchanged long hugs, the embraces bringing both Mrs. Harper and Olivia to tears again.

Mr. and Mrs. Harper opened the door, but Olivia hesitated.

“I’ll be right there,” she said to her parents, then turned to me. “Look, I know this doesn’t really matter, since you’ll probably never meet Brooke. But I don’t want to give you the wrong idea about her. I knew she wouldn’t come, but it’s not because of you. It’s because of me.”

“What do you mean?”

She sighed and glanced down at her feet. “The last time I saw her was… it was bad. I was so angry after my brother died. I said things to her that I really regret. Well, we both said things, but there’s no excuse for how I treated her. And I haven’t seen her since.”

“So, you didn’t just lose your brother,” I said.

“Exactly,” she said. “I was hoping she’d be here. I owe her an apology, and I thought maybe today would be the day I’d have the chance. Anyway, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. It’s not your problem. I just didn’t want you to leave thinking she was a flake.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I hope you get the chance to talk to her.”

“Yeah, me too,” she said. “Thanks again for coming. I’m glad I got to meet you.”

We hugged again and said one last goodbye.

I stopped in the restroom, then left the restaurant. I was still thinking about Brooke. Wondering what had become of her—of the woman Liam Harper had loved. Wondering if she was okay.

I was still thinking about her when I turned up the sidewalk, heading to where I’d parked. Still thinking about her when I saw a woman across the street, sitting at a little café table, looking at her phone. She was dressed in a tank top and shorts, long dark hair spilling down over her shoulders. I paused and watched her glance up, looking in my direction.

And I knew, with every ounce of my being, that she was Brooke.