LUCAS HAD PACKED UP his room and left that morning, convinced he was never coming back.

That was how it worked with him now.

He stayed until things happened to him, and then he took off.

Things had happened here in Blacksburg, and now it was time to leave. He’d packed his car. He’d left a check to cover more than his share of the last two months of utilities.  He’d walked out the front door, gotten into the driver’s seat, and pulled out onto the road.

He drove out of town, taking 460 to Christiansburg. Then he took the ramp to I-81 toward Roanoke. He didn’t know where he was going. He was just getting away.

He’d made Jill cry earlier like her heart was breaking.

He wasn’t going to do it again.

There wasn’t much traffic this early on a Sunday morning, just a lot of tractor trailers going way too fast down the mountain. He maneuvered around most of them. He was driving fast too.

When he got to the next exit, he pulled off the interstate without putting on his turn signal.

He didn’t even know why.

Responding to an unstoppable force that was controlling his actions, he turned around and drove back to Blacksburg.

He ended up downtown, and he circled until he found a parking spot on the street from which he could see the apartment building.

He didn’t get out.

He didn’t go up.

He just sat in his car and waited.

He had no idea what he was doing, but he couldn’t seem to drive away again.

He sat there for more than two hours, watching people stroll by, enjoying their Sundays, stopping in shops, grabbing a bite to eat, smiling and laughing and living their lives as if they couldn’t be torn away from them at any moment.

He saw Jill’s boss and his sister walk across the street and go into Tea for Two. Jill worked with both of them. She liked both of them. She said they had really good hearts.

That mattered to Jill—more than anything else.

She’d thought he had a good heart too.

He’d thought he had one too... a long time ago.

He kept sitting, waiting, watching. Eventually he saw Chloe striding down the sidewalk like she was on a mission. She was wearing a pair of loud red leggings and a long, off-the-shoulder top. She wasn’t smiling.

She pressed the buzzer next to the exterior door, and after a minute she walked into the apartment building.

She was going to visit Jill.

Jill was upstairs.

Lucas could reach her in less than three minutes, if he just got out of his car.

He didn’t move.

After a while, the door to the apartment building opened again. Chloe came out first. She was obviously talking because her lips were moving and her expression was animated.

Jill followed her, dressed in jeans and a white top. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail.

It was the simplest outfit he’d ever seen her wear. It didn’t look like her at all.

Her head was turned behind her, and she held the door for Michelle and then Steve.

They all stood on the sidewalk for a minute, talking about something. Then Chloe went into Tea for Two, followed by Jill. After a moment, Michelle dragged Steve inside too.

He didn’t object, although he was clearly putting up an exaggerated fuss about going into the girly little shop.

He went in though.

He was doing it for Jill. Lucas knew it instinctively.

All of them were there for Jill—because they thought she was sad, because they wanted to cheer her up.

Jill thought of them like family.

They were home to her.

For a while Lucas had felt part of it too.

He wanted it.

All of it.

All of them.

He wanted Jill so much it was strangling him.

Instead, he had... nothing.

It felt like he was drowning, like he literally couldn’t breathe.

He fumbled in the passenger seat until he got his hand on his phone. Without thinking, he dialed the only number he could think of to dial.

He waited as it rang.

“Hello? Lucas? Is that you?” The familiar voice was surprised, hopeful.

“Yeah, Mom,” he said, trying to make his voice sound natural. “It’s me.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. I just called to say hi.”

“Why are you lying to me?”

Lucas sat behind the steering wheel, staring blindly at a group of college kids crossing the road in front of him. His hand was shaking, and he didn’t know why.

“Lucas, did something happen?” his mother asked, sounding strangely gentle.

“N-no.”

She paused for a moment. “You can tell me about it.”

He didn’t answer. He couldn’t.

“I know you think we’ve never understood, but we do. We really do. You almost died. You came so close. We know things would feel different after that. We don’t think you’re overreacting. You don’t have to hide from us.”

He had been. Hiding from everything, everyone, anyone who might make him feel too much, might threaten the artificial peace he’d created in his heart.

He didn’t want to hide anymore. Not from his family.

Not from Jill.

When he didn’t respond, his mother went on, “You know you can come home any time you want. To stay or just to visit or whatever you want. Do you want to come home?”

His throat had constricted so much his breathing was loud and hoarse. “Yes,” he managed to say in an embarrassing rasp. “I want to come home.”

“Then come. Come right now. We miss you so much.”

He was shaking so much now he could barely hold the phone steady. “I might...” When his voice cracked, he had to start again. “I might bring someone with me, if that’s all right.”

“Of course it is!” Her tone had changed. She was clearly both surprised and pleased by that piece of information. “We would love that. You know we would. You bring anyone you want, anyone who’s special to you. It doesn’t matter to us who they are.”

“I don’t know... I don’t know if she’ll come. I didn’t treat her...” He took a ragged breath as the truth hit him hard. “I didn’t treat her right.”

His mom said, “Well, maybe she’ll forgive you if you tell her the truth. Just make sure you treat her right from now on.”

***

JILL HAD A VERY BAD morning.

Despite her friends’ attempts to comfort and encourage her, the morning dragged on and on. They went down to Tea for Two and bought almost every kind of goodie Carol had made that morning, splurging on the most expensive tea. Chloe, Michelle, and Steve were all trying to keep the mood light, to make her laugh.

And she appreciated it. A lot.

But she was exhausted when they went back up to the apartment, and Jill just didn’t have the energy to keep trying to be all right. So she said she needed a nap.

She thought she would cry alone in her room, but she was too drained to even cry.

She got under the covers and actually went to sleep.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone sound asleep at one o’clock in the afternoon, but she was totally out of it.

So out of it that she was aware of nothing—nothing at all—until she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder.

It jarred her awake.

Then she became aware of someone sitting on the edge of her bed, leaning over her, touching her.

She gasped and sat up straight so quickly she knocked her forehead against the other person’s head.

She huffed at the impact, raising a hand to the bump on her temple.

“Ouch,” Lucas said, raising one of his hands in exactly the same way she was.

Lucas.

It was Lucas.

In her bedroom.

Sitting on her bed.

Lucas.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know you were really asleep.”

“What did you think I was doing in here?” She was dazed and not really following what was happening.

“I thought were... I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“Well, you did.”

Then the reality finally caught up to her.

Lucas was here when he shouldn’t be.

He really shouldn’t be.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no.” She was still covering the painful spot on her head, but something much worse than that was hurting now too. “Lucas, you can’t be here. You were going to let me go. You were going to be a decent man.”

“I know,” he said, the strangest expression on his face. It was twisted, like he was feeling too much to hold on to with his normal composure. “I know I was going to do that. But I don’t want to be just a decent man. I want to be... better. I want to be... good.”

She gasped, still holding her head. She stared at him, trying to understand, trying to contain a surge of hope that was suddenly flooding her heart, her chest, her whole body. “What... what do you mean?”

“I mean I want to be good.” His green eyes were soft, almost tender, completely vulnerable. “I want to...” He cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

“You... you are?”

“Yes. I’m so sorry. I was so...”

“So what?” she whispered, her head and heart and vision all spinning. These weren’t just words he was saying to smooth over a conflict. She could see they were real. His face was twisting with emotion.

“So scared. Because what I have with you is so... real.”

“I thought it was too,” she admitted, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

“I spent so long trying not to feel helpless, trying not to feel weak. But that’s what I’ve been with you. I don’t want to be that anymore.” He paused. “I’m going to go home for a few days—back to Iowa. I want to see my folks. And I need to... I need to face up to a few things.”

Her hand moved down to cover her heart. “I think that’s a good idea,” she said softly.

She still didn’t know what was happening here, but she was sure it had to be good for Lucas.

He’d been riding the tide, letting things happen to him for too long.

He needed to face what had hurt him so he could finally heal.

“Will you...” Lucas’s hoarse voice trailed off. He stared down at his hand on her covers and then slanted a look back up to her. “Would you like to go with me?”

Her breath hitched. She sat perfectly still.

“I understand if you don’t want to,” he said when she didn’t answer. “I’m going to go regardless. But I thought... I want to tell you some stuff. I should have done it earlier. I shouldn’t have kept holding back on you. I was wrong.  I was scared. But I want to be... better. And I really want to be with you. For real this time.”

A single tear slid out of her eye, down her cheek, and then plopped onto the sheet. “I would love to go with you, Lucas,” she said. “I just need to ask my boss if I can take a couple of days off. Did you want to go right away?”

“I did,” Lucas said. “But I’ll wait for you if it needs to be later.”

She reached for her phone. “Let me call him and see. He was down in Tea for Two earlier.”

***

PATRICK WAS FINE WITH her taking a couple of days off since she was caught up on her work and didn’t currently have any pressing deadlines, so she and Lucas drove to Roanoke and got on a plane. By the evening, they were in Des Moines.

The whole thing was happening so fast that Jill could barely keep up.

She knew Lucas was serious. She knew he’d turned some kind of corner. He hadn’t promised her anything yet, but she knew it was coming.

He’d made mistakes, but he wasn’t a bad man. He wasn’t selfish. And he wouldn’t be doing this with her now unless it meant something, unless he was ready to commit.

She trusted him. She didn’t have to have all the compartments of her life perfectly tidy to know this was what she wanted. Lucas was who she wanted.

So she didn’t push him. She was going to wait until he was ready.

Lucas rented a car at the airport, and she thought they would go straight to his parents’. But they were both hungry, so they stopped and got some sandwiches to eat. Then Lucas drove through downtown, stopping in front of an office building.

“What’s this?” she asked since he was staring at the building like it was significant.

“This is where I used to work.”

“Oh really?” She peered at the place, but it wasn’t anything noteworthy. Just a generic office building, like thousands of other ones. “Did you really hate it?”

“Not the work. Not all of it. But I did hate going to sit in an office every day. I just can’t do that again.”

“Well, maybe you can find another way to work.”

He nodded. “That’s what I’m going to do. I’ve already taken a bunch of jobs from friends of Steve and Michelle.”

“You have?” She knew he would hear the surprise in her voice, but there was no way to disguise it.

“Yeah. I didn’t tell anyone, but I’ve been doing that. I’ve liked working that way—just going over to people’s homes and helping them out. I can work on building up a business that way.”

“I think that’s a great idea.” She gave a little chuckle. “So all this time, you haven’t been the slacker you pretended to be.”

“Well,” he admitted, “at first I was. I thought it would be easier that way—so I didn’t have to work hard building something that might be taken away in the blink of an eye. But I guess I’m not really a slacker at heart.”

She smiled at him, and he smiled back. And then he pulled the car away from the curb. He drove out of the downtown area and through several residential areas until he’d gotten to an older neighborhood with small brick houses and big yards. He took several turns until he pulled in front of a brick ranch with several big trees in the side yard and a concrete patio.

“Where are we now?” she asked.

“This was my house.”

“It was?” She leaned forward, peering at the house. It wasn’t a new build, but it was in good shape. The yard was well kept, and the overall look was comfortable and attractive. “I like it.” She turned back toward him. “It looks like a nice little house. Did you like it?”

He let out a little breath. “Yeah. I did.”

“Why did you sell it?”

“I didn’t want to be that man anymore. The man who owned this house. I wanted to be... unfettered. I didn’t want to pour myself into anything—even a house—that could be... taken away.”

The words reflected what he’d said about his job. Taken away. Something had been taken away from him in the past. She felt a familiar knot of worry in her gut. It felt like something was coming. Something big. Something hard.

Without another word, Lucas pulled back onto the street. She knew from what he’d told her in the past that his parents lived somewhere near here, but he didn’t go to their house. He drove out of the neighborhood and through a commercial area until he reached what looked like a park and community center. There was a baseball field and tennis courts in view.

Lucas parked the car and got out, so Jill got out with him.

She took his arm as they walked, and she could feel that he was shaking just a little.

He hadn’t said anything since he’d left his old house.

He led them to a corner where two sidewalks met—at the intersection of two roads. There was a traffic light, and several cars were waiting for it to turn green so they could go.

Jill looked up at Lucas and waited.

He was breathing unevenly now, and the color had left his face. Something haunted was evident in his eyes.

She reached out to hold on to both his hands. She was nervous, almost terrified, but she didn’t prompt him to continue. She waited until he was ready to speak.

He inhaled hoarsely and began, “I was on a baseball team for a community league. We had practice on Thursday nights. I was leaving. I was standing here. I’d been arguing with Carly, my fiancée, and I was bored with work, and I...”

When he trailed off, Jill squeezed his hands.

He went on. “I remember standing right here, thinking how I didn’t really want my life. Nothing was making me happy. And then... and then... exactly then... an SUV ran the light right there. She was texting while she was driving, and she just drove right through on the red. She hit another car and then got propelled this way. She went over the curb, and I was standing here and...”

“Bam,” Jill said, very softly.

Lucas swallowed so hard she could see it in his throat. “Bam. The SUV hit me so hard I got thrown all the way over there. There was a concrete block with a plaque on it, and a corner of it tore open my back. I almost died. I had to be resuscitated. I was in the hospital for almost a month. They say I came within a breath of dying, but I feel like I actually did. And afterward... I was terrified.”

“Of course you were. After that kind of trauma.”

“I had months of therapy afterward, and I tried to do everything I was supposed to do. Like a good boy. But I was still terrified. About everything. It felt like I had no control over anything. Like anything and everything could be taken away by something so... random.”

“I can understand that.” Her voice shook just slightly.

“So nothing I did seemed to matter. I didn’t want to be the man I’d been before, the one who worked hard and took life seriously. If life was so... fragile, so uncertain, if it could be taken away so quickly, then what was the point of... of anything I’d been doing. It just made me weak and vulnerable. It just made it hard when life got ripped away.”

Lucas was still white, still shaking slightly, and she knew just coming back here, just standing on this corner again, had been incredibly hard.

Harder than anything she could imagine.

She made a little wordless sound and pulled him into a hug.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding on to her, not letting her go. She could feel emotion shuddering through him, and it was shuddering through her too.

He’d almost died.

He’d come so close.

Then she never would have met him at all.

She would have lived her entire life without touching him, seeing him, knowing him, loving him.

She’d almost lost him before he’d ever been hers.

When his arms finally loosened, he pulled back to meet her eyes. “Tell me the truth. Are you... disappointed?”

“Disappointed?” Her voice cracked on the one word.

“Because the bam wasn’t as big as you thought it would be. Didn’t you think it would be... horrific? Because I’ve spent so long making it so important.”

“It was important! It was horrific. You almost died, Lucas. I can’t even imagine what that felt like. I can understand why it changed you, even though I don’t think it changed you as much as you believed.”

He gave her a little smile, more color coming back to his face. “Maybe it didn’t.”

She went on. “I understand all of it. All of it. Except...”

“Except what?” He wiped away a stray tear from her face with his fingertips.

“Why couldn’t you tell me what happened to you?”

He shook his head very slightly. “I don’t know. It was all just... blocked. And I knew it was all irrational—how I was acting, what I’d taken from the accident. I knew it didn’t make logical sense and that it would just prove I was weak and vulnerable and... foolish. I guess I was just... embarrassed, as stupid as that sounds.”

She hugged him again. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Thank you for waiting until I could.”

***

WHEN THEY FINALLY GOT to Lucas’s parents’ house, Jill was exhausted and emotional. It felt like she’d lived several lifetimes since yesterday, and she met Lucas’s parents and then the rest of his family, who all came over for dinner, in a daze.

A good daze, but definitely a daze.

His parents had a huge dining room table, and they added an extra leaf so everyone could squeeze around it as they ate barbecue pork, macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, and homemade rolls. The conversation was loud and excited, and there were too many people involved to have deep discussion.

Which was just as well.

If Jill had to have another deep discussion today, she would just burst into tears.

Lucas had been slightly awkward at first, slightly sheepish, as if he was embarrassed by how he’d been acting for the past two years.

She’d never seen him embarrassed about anything before, but she kind of liked that he was now.

It meant he loved his family.

It meant he cared about what they thought about him.

Everyone was obviously curious about her, but no one asked rude or intrusive questions, which she appreciated. They did act like she and Lucas were in a serious relationship, but she didn’t actually mind that.

It made something inside her shudder in excitement.

When dinner was over, she helped with the dishes. She was standing at the sink, rinsing off plates before she loaded them into the dishwasher, when Lucas’s sister came to stand beside her with several used glasses.

Jill smiled at the other woman, whose name was Laura. She was a few years older than Lucas, and she had his beautiful green eyes and was several months pregnant.

“You really don’t have to help with all this,” Laura said.

“I don’t mind. I like to tidy things up.”

Laura opened her mouth to reply, but something strange happened to her face. It contorted dramatically, and she closed her eyes and turned her head away from Jill.

“Are you all right?” Jill asked, immediately concerned.

“Yes, yes. I’m fine. Sorry. I’m just... just so happy.” Laura’s expression cleared, and she gave a wobbly smile. “My husband keeps telling me not to start bawling, but I’m just so happy. Lucas is back, and he seems... so much better.”

Jill immediately understood how the other woman felt. “He’s really great.”

“I know he is. We all know he is. He’s always been so... warm and generous and funny and... sweet. Everyone has always loved him. He always had so many friends, and he worked so hard at his job and on his house. I know he wanted to be a husband and father, and then...” Her voice broke, and she trailed off. She had to clear her throat before she continued, “He came so close to dying. I still have nightmares about it. And even then, he worked so hard at getting better. I thought he would be able to go back to... But as soon as he was better, he just left. I know he thought we were disappointed in him, that we didn’t understand why he felt the need to be someone else. We wouldn’t have cared if something else made him happy, except it seemed like he was just... running away.”

Jill was listening intently, soaking in every word. “I don’t think he is anymore.”

“I know. That’s why I’m so happy that my pregnant self can’t stop blubbering about it. I haven’t seen him like this—so genuine and so happy—in years.” Then her tone changed, and she shot Jill a mischievous look. “And I’ve never seen him so in love. Not ever.”

Jill sucked in a breath, although she couldn’t help but like the sound of that. “I don’t know—”

“I know. I’ve known Lucas for twenty-seven years. I’ve never seen him like this with any other woman. Ever.”

Jill’s cheeks were flushed, but there was no way she could help it. She felt ridiculously like giggling.

Before she could think of an appropriate response, a new voice came from the entrance to the kitchen. “You’re not saying something embarrassing about me, are you?”

Both women turned to look at Lucas, who was half smiling but also arching his eyebrows questioningly.

“Well, I’m your big sister,” Laura said. “I’m supposed to embarrass you.”

Lucas came over, wrapping an arm around Jill and pulling her against him. The gesture felt natural, as did the way she put a hand on his shirt.

“What were you saying?” Lucas asked.

“I was about to tell her how you were that school play in seventh grade and fainted on stage.” Laura’s voice was light, and it was clear she wasn’t going to admit what she’d really been talking about the moment before.

Jill said, “You really fainted?”

Lucas groaned, but he kept his arm around her.

***

LATE THAT NIGHT, LUCAS was so exhausted he could barely stay on his feet.

After dinner, his mom and dad insisted he and Jill stay in a guest room. Lucas wasn’t sure whether Jill would be comfortable with that, but she hadn’t seemed to mind.

It was almost eleven at night, and he was finally getting into bed. He’d taken a shower first, so Jill was already under the covers, waiting for him.

Lucas was so tired and emotionally drained he could barely speak.

But he wanted to make sure Jill was all right.

A lot had happened today.

And they still hadn’t talked about some of the things they needed to say.

He rolled onto his side so he was facing her. He’d turned off the light as he came to bed, but there was light from the bedside clock and light from the crack under the door from the hallway, so he could just barely see Jill’s face and the outline of her body.

“Are you okay?” Jill asked, reaching out to touch his chest.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

“I’m fine.”

“I know my family is... a lot to take.”

“I like them. And they seem so happy to see you. They must have missed you a lot.”

“I missed them too,” he admitted.

She didn’t say anything else, but it seemed like she was staring at him in the dark.

He hoped things hadn’t moved too fast for her. If she was scared away from a relationship with him, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. He asked, “Are you sure you’re all right, baby?”

“I’m...” She gave a little laugh. “I’m more than fine. I’m... happy.”

He groaned in relief and pulled her against him, wrapping both arms around her. He buried his face in her hair.

“What about you?” she asked, her voice muffled by his bare chest.

“I’m tired,” he told her. “And relieved. And embarrassingly emotional. And... kind of nervous. I don’t have any idea what’s going to happen now, but I care again. I care about it again. It’s... an adjustment.”

“Yeah. I guess it would be.”

He nuzzled her neck. “But beneath all that, I’m happy too. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d ever be this happy again.”

Her arms tightened around him, and her hand moved along his back until it was tracing the line of his scar.

It felt so intimate it was almost uncomfortable. Lucas muttered softly, “You don’t need to pet the thing.”

She knew exactly what he was talking about. Exactly what he felt and why he felt it. “Yes, I do.”

“I’m always going to hate the thing.”

“I’m not.”

That surprised him, so he pulled back enough to see her face. His vision had adjusted, so he could see her expression now. Her eyes were huge, and her mouth was trembling a little. “Why not?”

“Because you wouldn’t be you without it.”

For a moment his heart was so full he couldn’t process it, couldn’t contain it. When he was able speak, he said, “You know I love you, don’t you?” he asked. “You know that’s what all this means.”

“I...” She giggled softly. “I’d hoped so.”

A swell of joy was breaking now in his heart, overwhelming everything else. “Well, I do. I love you. I want to be your forever man, if you think... if you want me for that long.”

She fell into half laughter, half sob as she grabbed for him and pulled him close again. “I do. Want you. Forever. You’ve always been my forever man. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”

Lucas held her for a long time, clutching her in a hard grip that seemed to embody his deepest need. She was small and soft and warm and real, and she wasn’t going to go away.

She made him vulnerable. She made him weak.

But she also made him strong.

And it was worth it. For however long he was allowed to have her, to love her, to hold her like this, it was worth it.

Maybe one day she’d get taken away from him, but it would never be by his choice. And he was going to hold on to her for as long as he could.

Eventually his body started to react to her closeness, and they made love in soft, urgent silence under the covers. He kissed her the whole time, and she wrapped her legs around him. He gave her everything he had, everything he had in him to give, and she took it, accepted it, wanted it, gave it back to him.

When he woke up the next morning, it felt like he’d been made new. He was excited about what the day would bring.

And maybe it wouldn’t just be what happened to him.

Maybe he could start making things happen again.

***

A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER, Chloe came over on Friday evening, and they ate pizza and played Steve’s silly party game again.

Jill couldn’t remember ever having such a good time—her pleasure untainted by uncertainty or confusion.

She loved Lucas, and Lucas loved her, and they were starting to make a life together. Here in Blacksburg. In their loft apartment.

Maybe eventually they’d want to have a house of their own, but they weren’t there yet. They both really liked it here, and they wanted to stay.

She and Lucas had been on a team together, against the other three. The score was neck and neck, and it was her and Lucas’s turn to answer the final question.

She was standing on the couch for some reason—she had no idea why she’d gotten up—and she was leaning against Lucas’s back, her arms wrapped around his neck.

She got the answer to the question right, and she was shouting in triumph as Lucas turned around, picked her up, and whirled her around. The others were moaning in exaggerated defeat, but eventually they all fell into laughter.

When the game was over, Jill got up to start picking up, and Lucas helped her by collecting bottles. He dumped them into recycling and then cornered her against the kitchen counter so he could kiss her for a few minutes.

She had no objections to that.

“Hey,” Chloe called out from the living area. “I thought one of the rules of this apartment was that sex stayed in the bedroom.”

“No one is having sex,” Jill called back. Lucas’s body was pressed up against hers, and he certainly had sex on his mind, if the bulge in the front of his pants was any indication.

“Are you sure? Because you know we can see you over here, right?”

Jill giggled and pushed Lucas away, murmuring to him, “We’ll have to save that for later.”

“Count on it,” he said against her ear.

Chloe left a few minutes later, and Jill and Lucas finished cleaning up.

Michelle came back from the front door, where she’d been saying good night to Chloe, and she caught Jill near the refrigerator.

Michelle had appeared to have had a good time this evening, but there was something poignant in her eyes now. She whispered to Jill, “I’ve got to break up with him.”

Jill froze, her heart dropping into her gut.

She was so happy, so settled, so at home. And she’d hoped it would last a little longer.

But change would always catch up with her, and no attempt to keep things safe and cozy would ever hold it back.

She reached out to squeeze Michelle’s arm. “You’re sure?”

Michelle nodded. “I have to.”

Jill nodded, seeing the emotion her friend was trying to contain. Then she reached out to pull Michelle into a hug. “I’m here for you. No matter what.”

Steve was on the couch, looking at his phone, looking like he had no idea what was about to happen to him. Jill could see him over Michelle’s shoulder, and she ached for him.

Her eyes moved to Lucas. He was watching her, his expression sober, as if he realized that something was wrong.

He loved her, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

Her world might change, but his place in it wouldn’t.

He was hers now. For the long run.

The night she’d first met him, she’d thought he would be the perfect guy for a one-night stand.

But life never happened the way she thought it would, and it turned out he was the perfect guy for forever.