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Nadine nods, her fingers flying across the screen again as I wrap up the project file and send it off to Liam to hand over to whoever needs it. About five minutes after the email goes through, Liam is at my desk, his eyes practically bugging out of his head when he sees me packing things into the boxes Nadine has found.

“I can’t believe you actually quit,” he admits, pulling me into a quick hug. He and Nadine exchange a tight smile, confirming further that whatever tension they had is still there.

“She’s a badass.” Nadine smirks, handing me a stack of books I kept in my desk for when my days got boring. Like I told Carter, Thomas didn’t trust me to do much. “What’s your boyfriend going to think about all this?”

I stop, books held in midair at her question. I hadn’t really thought about that, yet. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw me a party.”

“I’m considering throwing you a party,” Liam says, leaning against my desk. “What’s next?”

I shoot off a message to the whole group:

I know I should text Carter separately, but I need to get a move on before I get kicked out. I’m officially unemployed. I’ll explain when I get back to Columbia. Carter, call me when you land.

When I look up, both Nadine and Liam are patiently waiting for an answer. An answer I don’t have.

“I don’t know.” I dump an entire drawer of pens into the box, anxious to get out of here. Word has spread and people are starting to stare at me. “I’ll finish Josie and Bryce’s house and then decide what I want to do from there.”

“You could do that, Kat,” Liam presses. “Those design ideas you sent me are solid. You didn’t even need me to look at them.”

The idea has been tugging at the back of my mind since I made up my mind to quit. Now Liam’s brought it to the forefront, where I’ll be harder to shake off. I glance around my desk. The last eight years at this job fit into a box and a half. I’m not even sad to walk away.

“I’m going to take some time, figure things out,” I explain, hoisting the heavier box into my arms. “I’ll figure it out after the Olympics. Nadine, are you walking me to my car?”

She nods, grabbing the last box. I give Liam another quick hug before I walk away from my now-empty desk. The only proof that I was ever there is an overly posed photo of me, my mother, Thomas, and Will. It’s all fake smiles and picture-perfect family. I hated that picture with every fiber of my being, but it felt like something that needed to be there. Like I should have a personal memento. I’m happy to leave it behind.

May2024

“Carter!” I gasp out, surprised to find my boyfriend standing on the other side of my door. He’d been in Texas for another meet and was supposed to be flying back to Georgia. “What are you—”

I don’t get a chance to finish before he swoops down and kisses me. I let out a surprised gasp, which he uses to his advantage as his tongue slides in, tangling with mine. Sighing against the kiss, my hands scramble to find something to hold on to—his biceps, hips, hair, shoulders, anything. Everything.

Hands on my hips, he’s moving us further into the house, swinging the door closed behind him. I stay lost in the moment, lost in him, and the way he makes me feel. When he backs me into the wall, though, I pull back for a breath. Carter wastes no time, tilting my head so he can move his lips down to my neck.

“Carter,” I breathe between kisses, licks, and bites. “What’s going on?” I swallow back a moan as he sucks at my pulse point, not hard enough to leave a mark but hard enough to have warmth pooling in my stomach. “H-h-how are you here?”

“Changed my flight.” I see a flash of his green eyes before he’s leaning down to kiss me again. I melt against him.

Eventually, I focus on what he said and have more questions. Questions I, unfortunately, need answers to. Tugging at his hair, I pull back until he focuses on me. Forehead against forehead, we both try to catch our breath. Which would be easier if Carter didn’t keep pressing quick, sweet kisses against my lips.

“Why did you change your flight?” The question is breathless when I finally manage to get it out.

“You quit your job,” he reminds me, squeezing my hips gently. “I’m so proud of you, Kat. I obviously wanted to be here for you.”

I arch a brow. “And this is your idea of being here for me?”

Grinning, he presses even closer, which I didn’t think was possible. “Being here for you.” He presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Celebrating what you did.” Another kiss to the underside of my jaw. “Helping you forget.” A kiss to my pulse point. “It’s multilayered. Covering all my bases.”

He finally brings his lips back to mine, allowing me to melt against him once more. As soon as I sink into the kiss, we’re moving again. As he pushes me toward the stairs leading up to the bedrooms, he pulls away enough to lock eyes with me. There’s a question in his eyes, one neither of us is ready to ask aloud, but I already know my answer.

“Take me to bed, Carter.”

Groaning, he pulls away from me enough to give me space to take his hands and lead him up the stairs. He’s practically running up them behind me. I let out a squeal of laughter when I’m suddenly picked up and slung over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

“Carter!” I gasp, reaching out to place a smack on the easy target that is his ass. His laughter is more than enough to make my grin widen.

We’re about to have sex, but we’re laughing. I guess I never really understood that this can be fun.

“Put me down.”