Page 29 of Baby for My Best Friend's Brother

I don’t feel right leaving without telling him that I’m having second thoughts. Because I’m falling for him.

His brows draw together. “Okay. What is it?”

Before I can choose my words, his phone buzzes on the nightstand.

He glances at the screen and groans. “Shit.”

“Everything okay?”

He reads the message, then sighs and scrubs a hand over his face. “Fire call. I’m a volunteer with the unit. They need everyone on site—a structure fire about thirty minutes out.”

My heart sinks. “You have to go.”

“I don’t want to.”

I smile sadly. “But you have to. Because you’re that kind of man.”

He groans again and leans in to press a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

He kisses me once more—slow and full of longing—then grabs his gear and heads out the door.

I sit for a few minutes in the now-quiet room, my heart heavy.

There’s no chance he’ll be back before I have to leave. There’s no chance I’ll get to tell him what’s on my heart.

So, I tear a page from the hotel stationery and start to write:

Cliff,

I wanted to tell you this in person, but life had other plans.

I came here to Alaska because I needed one last adventure before starting the next chapter of my life. I was going tobecome a single mom through IVF. I thought I knew what I wanted. What I needed.

And then I met you.

You made me laugh. You made me feel wanted. Seen. Cherished. Like maybe I wasn’t as alone in this world as I thought.

I’m not asking for anything. I know your life is here, and mine is back in Seattle. But I wanted you to know that this meant something to me. That you mean something to me.

With all my heart,

Sophie

I fold the letter and leave it with a girl standing behind the motel’s front desk to give Cliff when he returns. Because I know he will.

Heart heavy, I gather my things and head to the airport.

I stir a spoonful of honey into a mug of peppermint tea and breathe in the steam, hoping it’ll settle my stomach. So far, it’s not working. Neither is the plain toast I’m slowly nibbling between sips. My nerves are too high for anything more substantial.

This was supposed to be a big day. An empowering day. One I’ve dreamed about and planned for a long time.

Yet, here I am. Curled up in my pajamas, second-guessing everything.

I glance at my phone. It’s sitting face-up beside my empty plate, buzzing every now and then with notifications I refuse to check, because I know they aren’t the one I want to see.

But it’s been two weeks. I haven’t heard fromhimin all that time. There’s no reason to think I will now.

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