Page 141 of Seal the Deal

I try to smile, but it doesn’t quite land. No energy for a comeback. I drop the spoon, my fingers tightening around the cup instead.

Her eyes narrow as she takes a slow sip of her own coffee. “Alright, what’s going on? You’ve been stuck in your head since you walked through the door.”

I sigh, glancing out the window like it might hold answers. The coffee’s warm scent fills the air, but all I can taste is the guilt lodged in my throat.

“Jake left this morning,” I mutter.

Zoe nods. “Yeah, I know that. It’s a week. You two are disgustingly obsessed with each other, but you'll survive. You’ve gone longer without seeing him.”

I shake my head, biting my lip. “It’s not that. We had a huge fight last night… and I said something really stupid.”

She leans back, surveying me closely. “Define stupid. Like ‘I don’t like your hair’ stupid or ‘I made out with my ex’ stupid?”

I frown. “Why would a comment about hair cause a massive fight?”

“They’re all obsessed with their hair.”

I laugh weakly, but it’s hollow, and the weight in my chest doesn’t lift. “Well, thank God it wasn’t that.”

She grins, but she doesn’t continue the joke. Instead, she tilts her head, studying me. “What happened?”

I hesitate, my fingers tightening around my cup. “I told him maybe I should go back to New Zealand. For good. Because I’m scared of what Alex might pull with the custody stuff.” I feel the shame creep up my neck. “And then when he protested that, I told him he didn’t understand because he doesn’t have kids.”

Zoe’s eyes widen. “Jesus. You really went for the jugular, huh?”

The guilt presses down again. “Yeah.”

She’s quiet for a second, then leans in, her elbows resting on the table. “Why would you say that?”

“I don’t know. I panicked,” I admit, rubbing my temples as the tension knots tighter. “I didn’t mean it, Zoe. It just… came out.”

Zoe’s gaze softens, but there’s a seriousness in her tone when she speaks. “I get it. Alex has you on edge, and you feel cornered. But Jake’scrazyabout you. Don’t spiral over one fight.”

“I know,” I say quietly, “but Alex is such a nightmare to deal with. The idea of a custody battle, of losing the kids, it feels like too much. Like maybe leaving would be easier than—”

“Easier for who?” Zoe cuts in. “You? The kids? Jake?”

I pause, running a hand through my hair. “I didn’t mean it like that. But now I think Jake believes I’m not serious about staying. Or about him.”

Zoe stays quiet for a moment, letting the words hang between us. Then she asks, “Areyou?”

I swallow hard, blinking back the sting in my eyes. The emotions have been flooding through me in waves—fear, guilt, regret—they’re all tangled together and I can’t separate one from the other. But there’s no doubt when it comes to my love for Jake.

He’s never wavered, never given me a reason to doubt him. And I’ve let fear take over, let Alex and my insecurities twist everything until I couldn’t see straight. But running isn’t the answer. It never was.

My voice is husky when I nod my reply. “I love him so much it hurts.”

Zoe’s expression softens, and she leans back again, nodding like she’s waiting for me to finish.

I think back to the night under the stars all those years ago—when we promised to chase our dreams, to follow our paths. Back then, it seemed like the universe was pulling us in different directions. But now I realize thatJakeis my path. He’s my home. And I was stupid enough to let fear almost pull me off course.

What if he doesn’t want me anymore?

The thought sends a fresh wave of panic through me. Deep down, I know Jake. I know how much he loves me. But what I said last night—it’s a wound, and it’ll take time to heal. He needs space, and I need to figure out how to show him that I’m all in, too.

I can’t lose Jake. Not because of fear, anddefinitelynot because of Alex.

“I panicked,” I say again, the words heavy. “What if Jake doesn’t want me after this?”

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