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“It’s not fair that I’ll have wrinkles? I’m pretty sure all of us will if we age naturally.”

“No, I mean, you’ll be even more devastatingly handsome than you are right now.”

I kiss her forehead and then fall back to my pillow again. “You know, the pact isn’t legally binding. It’s just us, two parties, who can make or break it.”

She pecks my lips, but there’s not enough time to deepen it before she’s getting out of bed. “Let’s not mess this up by trying to make it something it’s not. We’ll just cause each other a lot of heartache, so why go through the trouble?”

“But what if?—”

“I need to get ready. Will you stay until I need to leave?”

And just like that, she shut down all options but the one I’ve been trying to get around this whole time—a goodbye. “I’ll stay,” I reply, swallowing down the scraps she’s leaving me along with my pride. My heart lodges in my throat, and when the door closes, I close my eyes, hoping to wake up in a different state of mind.

A kiss wakes me up, and then another. “I’m leaving,” she whispers.

When I open my eyes, the lamp on the dresser is on. It’s not bright, but there’s enough light to see she’s fully dressed. She’s stunning—the image of her before me will compete with remembering her at the peak of orgasm, sharing a laugh on the yacht as the sun sets, and feeding me grapes and then savoring it on my lips. Who am I kidding? I’ll remember everything about her, even this goodbye.

She walks to the door in silence.

I pull the covers off, not caring that I’m naked, and get up to help her with the luggage. It’s a good guise to actually be near her again.

Just as she yanks the handle from the top of the case, she kicks the bottom to get it angled. “Don’t get up. You can stay and sleep.”

“I want to.” I go to her and hold her head to look at her as if I’ll never see something of this magnitude again. It’s not just her beauty, though. The soul that she carries in the amber of her brown eyes is magnificent like buried gold “I need to say something?—”

“Please don’t.” The pain heard in her voice causes an ache in my heart. Her gaze falls from mine as her hands take hold of my arms.

I hate that my heart beats loud in my ears, and panic fills my chest. I’m losing her, and I’m just not ready yet. “What if I don’t agree?”

“You already did.” Her eyes finally return to mine. She throws her arms around me, holding me so tight that I think she might be panicking over this goodbye as well. She rests her head on my chest, her heart also beating just as fast.

I hold her, dipping my head against the top of hers and closing my eyes, savoring and memorizing everything I can.

She slips away too soon. I catch the subtle swipe from the side of her eyes, the jagged breath she takes, and how she forces that chin in the air, collecting herself back together again. “Go to bed. Get some sleep. That’s what I’d be doing if I could stay.” Playfully shoving me away, she says, “Go. You have hours until it’s time to check out. Enjoy the bed.”

“I’d enjoy the bed a lot more with you in it.”

“Me too, but I need to go.”

The space between us grows as I give her what she wants again. Climbing back into bed, I’m tired, but if this is the only way to end us on a good note, I’ll do it. With the door pushing against her back and her suitcase handle poised in her hand, she looks into the living room of the hotel suite. I hear her friend ask, “Ready?”

“One minute.”

She runs over and kisses me once more—lips pressed to mine like it’s the last she’ll ever get. I cup her face and hold her there, giving her one that will make her regret ever leaving.

Pulling back, she dips her forehead to mine and takes a breath as though it pains her. Then she returns to the door.

When she looks back at me, I ask, “Has anyone ever broken through that fortress?”

The slightest shake of her head follows, and then she says, “No one’s ever made the effort.”

I tuck my hands behind my head, sure as the day is new that I would be that man. “I always did love a good challenge.”

Her head tilts as a smile graces her face, reaching all the way to her eyes and shining happiness right into the irises. “I give you all the outs in the world, and you’re making it your life’s mission?”

“No, I’m making you my mission.” I wink at her.

She laughs, but I can see the color in her cheeks deepening. “There’s nothing wrong with a good ending, Harrison, and we got one of the best.”