“It is true,” Samara cut in. “We’ve all seen the way you light up whenever you talk about him.”
Annie, who had been quiet until now, reached over to squeeze my hand. “And you’ve been absolutely miserable since he left.”
I looked around the circle at my friends, these women who had known me longer than I’d known myself in some ways. Their faces were open, concerned, loving. There was no judgment, just gentle insistence on a truth I’d been running from for months.
“You’re scared,” Maya said softly. “We get that. But denying how you feel isn’t protecting you, Mia. It’s just making you miserable.”
Tears pricked at my eyes again, and this time I didn’t fight them. “What if it’s not real?” The question came out as a whisper. “What if it’s just the situation? The pretending? The sex?”
“Is that what you really think?” Cassidy asked.
I stared down at my younger self in the scrapbook, at those innocent eyes that had no idea what was coming. “I don’t know what to think anymore. I just know that when he’s gone, it feels like...” I trailed off, remembering Cassidy’s words.
“Like missing a limb?” she supplied gently.
I nodded, a tear slipping down my cheek.
“Honey,” Hannah said, “that’s not just sex. That’s not just pretending.”
“That’s love,” Poppy finished simply.
The word was terrifying and wonderful all at once. Love. Was that what this hollow ache in my chest was? This constant awareness of Jack’s absence? This desperate need to see his face, hear his voice, feel his touch?
“Oh god,” I breathed, the realization washing over me like a wave. “I’m in love with him.”
Emily let out a whoop that startled a nearby bird into flight. “Finally! She admits it!”
The others laughed, the tension breaking as I covered my face with my hands. “I’m so fucked.”
“Not yet,” Annie quipped, “but hopefully soon.”
I peeked through my fingers to find all of them smiling at me like proud parents whose child had just taken their first steps.
“So what do I do now?” I asked, feeling simultaneously lighter and more terrified than I had in weeks.
“You tell him,” Maya said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Cassidy confirmed. “Because, Mia, the way that man looks at you? I’m pretty sure you’re not the only one who’s fallen.”
MIA
Isat at the dining room table, my laptop open, scrolling through job listings while trying to stop my gaze from drifting to the flowers beside me. The small bouquet Jack had sent was modest compared to the extravagant arrangement from before, but the simplicity of these blooms, pink peonies and white ranunculus, made my heart flutter just the same. I picked up the note card propped against the vase for the twentieth time today:Back soon. J.
Two words and an initial. That was all. But they were enough to send warmth cascading through my chest. I traced my finger over his handwriting, the slight slant to his letters, the confident press of pen to paper and a small smile curved my lips.
Emily stood at the kitchen counter, piping rainbow frosting on to chocolate cupcakes. “Found anything promising?” she asked without looking up.
I sighed, returning to my screen. “A few possibilities. Nothing as exciting as Catalyst, but that’s the trade-off, isn’t it?”
The words came out easier than I expected. When I’d first realized I couldn’t keep working at Catalyst Digital if Jack and I were going to be together, the loss had felt crushing. I’d poured years of my life into that company, climbing from junior salesassistant to sales manager through sheer grit. But sitting here now, with all the love I felt for Jack inside me, the sacrifice seemed smaller, more manageable.
Emily set down her piping bag and studied me. “You’re really okay with this?
“I’m sad about it,” I admitted. “But I’ve weighed everything, and I know what matters more. Besides, my skills are transferable. I’ll find something good, just elsewhere.”
She nodded, returning to her frosting with a small smile. “I’m proud of you, Mia. Not everyone would choose love over career.”
