Page 155 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

I held back a sob, and when the door closed, I buried my face in my hands and let it out.

Holden and I were over, and it was time for me to go home.

60

Holden

“Areyou sure you want to do this?” the bank employee asked two days later, glancing between the paper I had handed him and my face with concern. “That’s a lot of money.”

When I returned home this morning after crashing at Emmett’s for two nights, the empty house didn’t surprise me. I had walked through my house, forcing myself to check each room, showing myself it was over. That I was back at square one, like before I met her. My chest had ached with emptiness at the bare countertops in the bathroom.

She had forgotten some paperwork in the kitchen, though, so I had fished out an old bank loan statement of hers and brought it to the bank.

The money didn’t matter. I didn’t even want the extra ownership of the inn we had agreed on. Transferring part of her ownership meant lawyers and meetings, and I wanted this done.

I wanted Sadie Waters out of my life.

Pain ripped through my chest at the memory of the disgusted, horrified expression on her face when I mentioned us getting married. Like she couldn’t imagine anything worse.

She had agreed to marry a guy who gave her a fake name, but the idea of marryingmewas off the table?

My gut rolled with nausea and I fought the urge to shake my head at myself. I should have fucking known. I wasn’t even angry at her. She had told me how she felt, I just didn’t listen. She swept me away with her pretty smiles and laughter and weekend adventures.

I couldn’t believe I actually thought she’d want me.

Everything my brothers had that I wanted so badly had been within reach, but it wasn’t real. Like I suspected all those months ago, I would never have those things.

No one would ever choose me.

My chest ached again but I nodded at the bank employee. “I’m sure. I want to pay the full amount.”

Now I could forget Sadie Waters.

61

Sadie

Willa’sfront door swung open and she hauled her suitcase inside. “Honey, I’m home,” she called.

“Hey.” I waved from the couch, watching as she kicked her shoes off. “How was the trip back?”

She walked over and collapsed beside me on the couch with a sigh. “Long. Remind me never to travel between Christmas and New Years.”

I snorted. “You wanted to see your nieces.”

Her expression softened and she nodded. “It was so good to see them. I miss those little brats.” She glanced over at me, searching my face. “How are you doing?”

I nodded at her, smiling. “Good.”

Things were terrible. I had spent the last two weeks on the couch, watching Grey’s Anatomy and doing endless hair and face masks.

When I wore one of those cloth face masks, I didn’t need tissues, because the mask absorbed my tears.

So. Yeah. That’s how things were going.

He had paid my debt off, and I wanted so badly to pick up my phone and call or text him to thank him, but I knew if I did that, I’d start bawling and one of us would end up on a plane and we’d be in the same mess down the line, because neither of us would change our minds.

Every second of the day, I missed Holden. My mind wandered to him, wondering how work was going and whether he was still working on the inn. Whether he still went to the bar in the evenings.

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