A part of me had wanted to take the easy way out and do this over the phone, but I owed it to myself to do things right. I'd forgiven Reed for what he'd done, but if I didn't meet him face-to-face, I'd feel like I was being vindictive, purposefully being rude for past grievances. And despite what had happened, I truly felt Reed was a good man and deserved better.

I'd wanted to meet him right away, but Anastascia had put a stop to that, reminding me I wasn't supposed to be up and around. So I'd reluctantly put it off until Wednesday and resigned myself to feeling guilty until then. Fortunately, Anastascia took Monday and Tuesday off to make sure I didn't do anything other than go to dance, so she kept my mind off of things.

Nothing, however, could keep me from being nervous as I walked into the little café where I'd arranged to meet Reed. This was going to be hard, not because I doubted I'd made the right choice, but because I didn't know if Reed would be angry for all of the things he'd given up to be with me. I really didn't want to cause a big scene in public.

I rubbed my hands on my jeans to dry them, took a deep breath of icy air and stepped inside. The rush of heat made my cheeks tingle even though I'd only been outside for the couple minutes it had taken to walk from where I'd parked Anastascia's car to the café door. I scanned the room and saw Reed raise his hand from a back booth. I smiled and nodded a greeting. I doubted I'd be able to eat breakfast, but some coffee was a necessity if I was going to get through this.

After I got my order and took a sip to make sure they'd gotten it right, I made my way around the maze of tables and slid into the seat across from Reed. The hopeful look in his eyes made my stomach clench. I wasn't sure which would be easier, easing into it or using the band-aid approach and just saying it outright.

“So...” His fingers tightened around the cup in his hands.

I couldn't bring myself to keep him waiting anymore. Band-aid approach then. I kept my voice as gentle as possible, knowing it probably wouldn't soften the blow. “This isn't going to work between us, Reed.”

Hurt flashed across his eyes and he reached for my hand, taking it between both of his. “Please, Piper. I know I fucked up. Let me make it up to you. I promise I can be a better man.”

I gently pulled my hand away. “I'm sorry.” I shook my head. “What we had.” I struggled to find the right words. “It was too intense, based purely off of emotion and physical attraction. I'd had a crush on you and we were both vulnerable. The sex was great, but whatever connection was there, it wasn't real.”

His mouth tightened. “Things could be different this time. I've changed.”

I nodded. “I know you have.” And he had. The fact that he'd stood up to his parents was huge. “But I've changed too. I've learned a lot about myself and done some growing up. One of the things I realized was that we aren't right for each other.”

I watched as it sunk in and waited for a blow-up. His fingers flexed on the table.

“Is there someone else?”

For a brief second, I considered lying to him, but then realized I'd be doing exactly what I'd accused him of doing. It'd hurt for him to hear the truth, but it would be worse if he found out I'd lied.

“There is,” I confirmed.

A shadow passed across his face. “Who?”

“It doesn't matter.” He'd find out soon enough. I had no doubt the gossip mongers would have a field day with this one. “But I know he and I are supposed to be together.” I wanted to apologize again, but refrained. I hadn't cheated on Reed or led him on. I felt bad that he was hurting, but he pain couldn’t become my responsibility.

After another minute of silence, he let out a slow breath. “Okay,” he said. His eyes met mine. “I hope he knows how lucky he is.”

I smiled. I couldn't help it. “We both do.”

He drained his coffee while I tried to figure out something to say. Unfortunately, I blurted out the first thing that came into my head without thinking about whether or not it was appropriate.

“Are you going to try to work things out with Britni?” I slapped my hand over my mouth. “Shit. I'm sorry. That was completely out of line. It's none of my business. I'm so sorry.”

He held up a hand, the corners of his mouth twitching with humor. I had a flash of memory about what it had felt like to have those lips on mine, moving over my skin. There was fondness to the memory, but no heat, confirming what I'd told him. My feelings for him were platonic.

“It's okay,” he said. “And the answer's no. I'm through letting other people dictate my life.” He gave me a sad look. “It's already cost me too much.”

He didn't have to tell me what he was thinking at that moment because my mind was already there. How different things might've turned out if he'd made that decision earlier. If he'd broken up with Britni before his bachelor party, would he have forgotten about me and our little tryst, or would he have tried to find me? If he'd followed through with it when we'd been in Vegas, would he have asked me to come back to Philadelphia with him? Would I, instead of planning a date with Julien this weekend, be looking forward to spending Christmas with the Stirlings, perhaps wondering if it was too early to be thinking about a ring?

I didn't like where that train of thought was taking me. I asked another question, “What about the family business?”

“Rebecca,” he said. “My parents are pissed enough at me that they're going to let her be in charge, even though they'd always said she wasn't cut out for business. I just hope the people in the company aren't going to suffer because of what I did. Punishing me is one thing...” His voice trailed off and he forced a half smile. “I'm not going to let it change my mind. Whatever Rebecca does will come back on them.”

“What about you?” I asked. “Do you think she'll do a good job?”

He rolled his eyes. “Piper, you know my sister. What do you think?”

I smirked. “She flunked economics and, rumor has it, did some 'extracurricular work' to pass her computer class. Social media was the extent of her computer knowledge.”

“So you can understand why they haven't let her do anything before.”

“Maybe they'll change their mind about the whole Britni thing to keep Rebecca out of the board room,” I suggested.

He shook his head. “They aren't the kind of people who'll go back on a threat. They'll put her in charge to punish me. But I'm not going back there.”

“Right.” I suddenly remembered. “Your business idea.”

He spun the empty coffee cup between his fingers. “I'm thinking now I might put things on hold for a while.”

Guilt welled up inside me. So I had screwed up things.

“I need to clear my head,” he continued. He glanced up at me. “About a lot of things, not just this.” He gestured between the two of us. “I need to figure out where my life's going and what I want from it. I'd never really given it serious thought before. It'd always been understood that I'd take over the family business, and I didn't have anything that was pulling at me, some other passion I needed to explore.”

“Where are you going to go?” I asked. I couldn't imagine never having dreams of my own. As poor as I'd grown up, my mother made sure I'd known, with enough hard work, I could accomplish what I wanted.

“Europe,” he said. “I have a few friends from college who live there. One is in Germany, another in France. I haven't seen them in a while. I'll look them up.” He tried for a wider smile. “Besides, rumor has it the women over there are easy.”

I forced a laugh and he did the same. I could tell he was trying not to show what he was really feeling. “And I've heard they like Americans.”

He smiled at my attempt to go with his joke. He glanced out the window and stood. “I really should get going.”

I stood as well. We looked at each other for a moment before exchanging an awkward hug.

“Be careful,” I said.

He nodded and turned toward the door.

A question popped into my head. I didn't want to ask it, but I knew I needed to. “Reed, about the dance grant.” He stopped and turned. “I need to know when it expires.”

“It doesn't.” His voice was quiet. “You have talent, Piper, and you deserve every opportunity to use it. It was a gift to you; no strings attached.” He paused, and then added, “And I’m taking your suggestion about making it a permanent thing for low-income families. Once your studies are complete, you'll get to help select another person to help.”

“Reed, I don't know what to say.”

“Nothing,” he said. “I just expect some good seats when you make it to Broadway.”

And then he was gone, leaving me standing in the café wondering if it was possible that things had actually just gone better than I'd ever imagined.