black suit, pressed white button-up, blue seersucker bow tie. He’d definitely tied the thing himself. His blue eyes swept my body, taking in my toned legs, the flirty skirt of my pink sundress, and then the intensity of my eyes. My body wanted to take a step toward him. I wanted it. I always had. But I remained rooted in place.
“Hi,” I said.
“You’re in Savannah.”
“Obviously.”
“Just for the holiday?”
I nodded. “My mom is helping me decide on where to go for PT school.”
“That’s incredible, Lila. I know you’ve always wanted that.”
“I have to go.”
Being around him hurt. Here we were, in the same city we’d been five years ago when he shattered my heart. And it could have been so easy with him. It could have been my whole world. Some days, I thought that I was over all the pain we’d caused each other, that maybe we could even be friends. Actual friends. Then, I would get one glimpse of those blue eyes, and I knew the truth.
“Wait,” he said, grasping my elbow.
“Ash.”
“You never responded to any of my messages.”
“Shouldn’t that be a hint?”
“I don’t want you to hate me forever.”
I bit my pale pink lip. “I don’t hate you.”
He scoffed.
“I don’t,” I insisted. “Hate is too one-dimensional. We’re complicated.”
“We don’t have to be.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Okay, Ash. I’m going to go.”
“It was good seeing you.”
And despite fucking everything, it was good to see him.
I whipped around, prepared to ask him why he always fucking did this to me, but then a petite brunette traipsed out of the cathedral and ran right up to him. My eyes widened to saucers as she threw her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his lips.
“There you are!”
Ash drew her in close. He smiled down at her. A real smile. An Ash smile. Something panged in my chest. I’d never seen him look at someone else like that. Even when he’d been dating that girl in college—whatever her name was—it had seemed like temporary bliss. Something about this girl was different. The perfect cookie-cutter Easter Sunday dress. The fact that she was even here with him. Which meant … she was here with his parents too.
I took another step back. I should have run. No need to make this more difficult for either of us.
“Who’s your friend?” she asked.
Ash’s gaze shifted back to mine. “This is Lila.”
“Oh!” the girl said. Her eyes skittered back to Ash in question.
So, this girl knew who I was. Peachy.
God, it was so like Ash to do this. To pursue me here like this when he had his girlfriend inside. He couldn’t ever just be alone.
“This is Heather,” Ash said to me.
I nodded. “Cool. Nice meeting you.”
“Um … nice to meet you too,” Heather said uncertainly.
It was so uncomfortable that there wasn’t another real answer.
“Have a nice Easter,” I told her, and then without looking at Ash, I strode down the steps and rushed to my mom’s car. I waited for her there without looking up. Just played some stupid game on my phone.
A text came in while I was still waiting.
Sorry that was awkward. I’d planned to tell you about Heather.
I hadn’t responded in over a year. It was a record.
I was about to break it.
Go back to your girlfriend.
It’s not like that.
What the hell did that mean? Why was he so maddeningly cryptic?
Like I said, we’re complicated.
At least you’re responding again.
I growled and almost flung my phone. The man was infuriating.
My mom returned then, and I stuffed the phone in my bag without responding. We went back to our house, but my sisters had to go home. They promised to be back for dinner with their families. Our house couldn’t accommodate everyone anymore, but my mom still hosted.
“Dee,” my mom said once we were back inside.
I checked my phone once more and saw three more texts from Ash. He had been right. The mistake had been in responding.
“Yeah?”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“What’s up?”
I settled into the lumpy chair that was my favorite in the house and yawned.
“Well, I have some news.”
My mom looked nervous. My mom never looked nervous.
“What kind of news?” I straightened in my chair.
“I don’t know how to tell you this. So, I’m just going to say it. My kidney is rejecting.”
My jaw dropped, and my vision went blurry. “What?”
“We knew this day would come,” she said with all her practiced calm. “I had the kidney transplant right after you were born. Most transplanted kidneys only