Page 160 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

She shook her head with a sad expression in her eyes. “You’re not over him, Sadie.”

Regret and pain flared in my chest and I sighed, staring at the floor. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be.”

“That good, huh?”

I turned to her and nodded. “The best, Will. The best man I’ve ever met.” I pressed my mouth into a tight line, thinking about how I’d never walk in the forest, holding his hand, ever again. “He wanted to get married. Not yet, but one day, and I said no.” I swallowed. “I said I’d never want to get married and if he loved me, he wouldn’t push me.”

Holden had once asked me if I thought I’d be able to find someone for him and I reassured him I would.

And then I stomped all over his heart.

Willa blinked. “Whoa. That’s a lot.” Her expression turned baffled. “Oh mygod. He asked you to marry him?”

The ring I had found flashed into my head.

It was beautiful. I’d never seen a yellow stone like that, all radiant and sparkling. It was so unique. My mind kept wandering back to it and what it meant to Holden.

Why didn’t I take a day to think, back in Queen’s Cove?

“Why didn’t you say something?” Willa asked.

My stomach rolled with nerves and I chewed my lip, gathering the words in my head. Here it was, the conversation I never, ever wanted to have with her.

“The apartment. We’ve wanted to live together for years.”

She gave me a flat look. “Donottell me you were about to give up your dream guy so we could live together in a creaky old apartment.”

I shook my head at her. “It’s so much more than that. You’ve always been there for me, and I want you to have the extra time and money to make a go at your painting.”

She stared at me like I was insane. “Sadie. Do you know how many people have asked if they could move into that apartment with me in case you changed your mind?”

Record scratch. “What?”

She nodded, holding my gaze with wide eyes before she gestured around the party. “At least half of our friends.”

“Oh.”

She nodded with a small smile. “Yeah.”

We sat there without talking for a moment, listening to the music.

“The thought of never seeing him again breaks my heart,” I told her, “and now I’m wondering if I fucked it all up for nothing.” My eyes stung again and a tear rolled down my face. “I think I did. I think I don’t care about the whole marriage thing in the end, if it means I get to be with him.”

My chest pulsed with tight, strained energy and my heart squeezed up into my throat as more tears fell.

“Great.” I rolled my eyes, laughing and wiping it away. “Now I’mthatgirl at the party, crying on New Years’ Eve because she’s single.”

Willa gave me a sad smile. “But it’s because of so much more, isn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yeah.” I sniffled. “Okay, now I really do have to go. At least to the washroom to calm down.”

“Wait.” Willa’s hand came to mine. Her gaze flicked around the room before it snagged over my shoulder. Her eyes were bright as she chewed her lip. “Don’t be mad, okay?”

I frowned. “Why?”

Nerves flashed across her face. “Based on how miserable you’ve been since you got home, I made a few assumptions.”

I stared at her. “Okay?”

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