Don't Need You - Lilian Monroe Page 0,69

have let go of the bitterness that’s plagued me.

When I told Serena I loved her last night, it felt like too much, too soon. It felt like a mistake to blurt it out like that, with no preamble. But as the hours stretch on and I settle into the feeling—into the honesty of it—it feels right.

Finn can sense the change. His voice relaxes, and we chat like old times. Like the past few months never happened, and he’s my best friend once more.

So, when Serena opens the door to the coffee shop an hour or so later and finds me on the phone, I finally tell Finn I have to go and hang up. She walks over to me, her hair a wild mass of curls and her eyes tinged with sadness. I gesture to the chair across from me.

“How’s your grandma?”

“Very ill,” Serena says, glancing at the counter. “I’m going to grab a coffee.” She gets up again, shedding her jacket and leaving it on the back of the chair. I watch her ass sway from side to side as she walks to the counter. She tugs the hem of her long-sleeved shirt, adjusting it over her curves as she stands at the counter and orders her coffee.

I love everything about her. The way she moves, talks, walks, thinks. I see a future with Serena that I didn’t know I could have. For the first time in a long, long time, I think I might be able to build the big family I’ve always wanted. I could have a stable relationship and a dog and a couple of kids. I could have the settled, happy life that has always seemed just out of reach for me.

But when Serena sits back down, her shoulders round as she wraps her hands around her steaming cup. She flicks her eyes to me, giving me a tight smile. “Who was on the phone?”

“Finn. They’re buying another plane, apparently.”

Serena smiles wider, but the sadness in her eyes intensifies. I don’t get it. I don’t understand why that would make her sad. I pull out my phone, pushing away my confusion. Finn sent me a photo of the new bird, and I pull it up on the screen, smiling wide.

“There she is. I’d love to fly that thing. Looks beautiful.” I stare at the screen until I realize Serena’s looking at me, not the photo I’ve tilted toward her. I frown. “What?”

“Kit.” She sighs, dropping her eyes to her coffee. When she drags them back up to mine, my stomach drops. That’s not the look of someone who’s thinking about a new dog and a couple of kids. Then, Serena says words that send a jet of cold fear rushing through my veins. “We need to talk.”

28

Serena

Last night, when Kit left, I was convinced it could work between us. He’s slipped in so easily with my family, accepted by them all in an instant. My mother likes him. Robbie loves him like a brother. After Thanksgiving, my sisters were all cooing about how handsome he was. They love him, too.

And—he’s prepared to move here! How many guys would pick up their life and move across the country for a girl? Am I crazy to think it could work?

Kit would fit right in. He basically already has, and I know I won’t meet another guy like him again. I mean, he brought the rest of my clothes over from the other side of the country in person, then told me he loved me! That got my lady parts roaring, and it’s hard to think about anything other than how incredible it feels to be with him.

But then, I walked into the coffee shop and saw his face more animated than I’d ever seen it. He was talking to Finn. And when he showed me the picture of the new plane? I’ve never seen him so excited.

Definitely not when he’s been in New Haven, that’s for sure. It’s like this city puts a damper on his spirit. Even with the chaos of my family around and how much he cares about me, he just doesn’t have that spark that he has in Woodvale. I’ve heard him talk about how much commercial flying bores him. I saw the energy coursing through him when he came back from the airfield in Woodvale.

He might think he wants to move here, but it would kill him. And if he started hating me for it, that would kill me.

So, as his smile