Chapter 65

Evie

The snow stops me.

I stand in the departures terminal, staring out the window at the rows of parked 747s coated in a fresh layer of snow. One by one, flights are being canceled, grounded due to inclement weather, the electronic display board turning red, line by line. For now, my flight to Reno is delayed.

Don't cancel, I pray.

From the moment I entered the yellow cab, the snow began coming down in earnest.

"Hope your flight takes off on time," the cabbie said, not sounding concerned in the least.

Now I'll be happy if it takes off at all.

Since deciding to go for it with Adam, everything is getting in my way. No Ubers or Lyfts were available, leaving me shivering on the street, hailing a cab early in the morning. Then a winter warning popped up on my phone.

The gate area is crowded with bleary-eyed, coffee-sipping passengers. Several teenagers wearing matching basketball sweatshirts sit on the floor taking turns charging their phones.

I take my seat next to a woman with blood red lipstick, thanking her for watching my bag while I stretched my legs. She reminds me of Anna.

Will Anna and Ari ever accept me after our deception? Adam is their child, so they have to forgive him. But the same may not apply to the fictitious Ronna.

I remind myself that none of it will matter if Adam doesn't want me.

Which is a real and terrifying possibility. After all, the entire time I was with Adam, we were engaged in a fake relationship.

Was it all an act?

Memories of Adam's heart-flopping late-night kisses in the Salt Lake City hotel room bring a blush to my neck.

Kisses don't lie.

My subconscious slaps me upside the head. Of course they do,

The internal battle has been plaguing me since my middle-of-the-night call with Caroline.

Am I doing the right thing?

I picture myself showing up on Adam's doorstep only to have him send me away. The thought makes my stomach hurt.

My phone dings with a text from Caroline.

You are powerful. You are vibrant. You got this.

Caroline is a mind reader.

I reply with a barbell emoji.

I am not going to let the fear of rejection get in my way anymore.

Better to have loved and lost and all that.

I will be all right. Even if he doesn't love me, even if it was all a sham.

The gate agent turns on the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen, we were just informed that the flight will be delayed another hour. We apologize for the inconvenience."

This is followed by a round of loud groans.

I send a message to Caroline.

I'm going to Colorado even if I have to fly the plane myself.