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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

TWO WEEKS LATER

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Leilani smiled sadlyat Blake as he sat behind his desk. She cleared her throat, and he looked up.

"I'm going to head out."

He shook his head. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded.

"Here I thought my brother was going to steal you away, but you're deserting me all on your own," Blake said, pushing his chair back and circling around his desk. "You want a hand carrying anything out?"

Leilani shook her head. "No. I'm not taking anything with me. I'm leaving the continental US, so trying to cull as much as possible."

"Is that right?"

Blake glanced behind her as she turned.

"Jacob," she gasped. His beautiful blue eyes gazed down at her, and the depth of emotion she saw blazing back at her made her chest thud.

God, she missed him.

"Hello, princess." He smirked. "Ready to run away with me yet?"

Leilani fish mouthed it for a moment and then swallowed.

"I didn't know you were coming," Blake said behind her, as she and Jacob stared at one another.

"I'm not here for you," Jacob answered without looking away. "Would you like a ride home?" He asked in what could only be described as a purr.

She should say no.

Every synapse in her brain was screaming say no. But her head nodded. "Okay."

His lips stretched into a warm smile.

"See ya, Blake," Jacob said over her head, and then guided her out of the office with his hand on the small of her back.

What was happening?

Leilani sat in the passenger seat, with her purse on her lap, and shot Jacob a glance.

"How have you been?" she asked.

"Busy." He smiled at her. "Making plans. Preparing."

Oh.

She narrowed her eyes, wondering if he was going to ask how her mom was. Did he know she had quit? Did he know that two days after he'd dropped her off that her mom had died?

That her best friends Amy and Vanessa hadn't even visited because Amy had gone into labor that same day. Amy's excuse was valid, but Vanessa could have been there for her. Or their husbands. She was close enough with them, too.

Or so she'd thought.

That she'd stood beside her grave feeling alone and scared.

Unreasonably, she'd wondered where Jacob was and had been so angry he hadn't been there for her.

But he wasn't.

To say she'd been through the dark night of the soul was barely scratching the surface.

Bella Dufort had shown up at her house a few days after her mom had died and let her cry in her arms.

After apologizing for just showing up, which was not at all necessary, the two of them had shared stories about their moms and how men were dumb.

"I know you love him. I saw it in your eyes." Bella smiled softly. "Jacob isn't in the right space in his life right now. Maybe in a few years. Don't write him off."

But she had.

There was no space in her heart for understanding when it was full of grief and pain.

Yet here she sat.

What was it about him that made her so unable to say no? Especially when it sounded like he had been having a grand time making his plans while she'd been going through hell.

Not that it was his responsibility to make her happy. But one phone call would have been nice.

One hug.

She sniffed and nodded, then glanced out the window. "That's nice."

He wasn't the only one making plans, though.

After the funeral, Leilani had sat on the front step of her home and stared out into the night, wondering what to do with her life.

She was alone as she'd feared, and it felt awful. Empty. Hollow. Groundless.

Frankly, she was miserable.

She had no idea where she belonged in life. Or who with. And it felt like she was the only person on the planet who felt like this.

She'd sobbed for hours, feeling sorry for herself, getting angry with her mom. Furious with her friends, and nearly sending a message to Jacob to tell him how much she hated him.

Which was a lie.

Leilani had wished he'd been there with her so damn much she ached.

By the time she'd climbed the stairs that night, she knew she didn't want to stay in Philadelphia. It didn't feel like home anymore, and the pull to start a new life somewhere was strong.

Where and how, she wasn't sure.

So she'd given Blake notice and put her mom's house on the market. It had been sold two days later, shocking her and the realtor.

Leilani saw it as a message that she was heading in the right direction.

So why hadn't she booked her flight to Hawaii?

That was where Leilani had thought she'd relocate to.

She had one month before settlement to decide.

Now, Jacob had shown up, and she guessed he wanted to say a proper goodbye. The way they'd parted outside the hospital had left a lot of things unsaid after what they'd shared together.

A brief, yet scorching, love affair.

I'm not here for you, Jacob had told Blake.

Which meant it was time for a last goodbye.

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