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“You said it to me once, when Bryce came back into my life,” Josie reminds me.

The realization dawns on me; it was right after he brought her coffee, and she wasn’t sure where she wanted him to be in her life.

She goes on to say, “I had to decide whether the person who hurt me got to be part of my life going forward. Despite everything, I’ve never regretted the decision I made, not really. Now it’s your turn to decide that for yourself.”

“But what if I get hurt?”

It takes me a second to realize the sad, scared whispered question came from me, but once I do, the weight of it settles around me. Because that’s the real question, the one I’ve been avoiding this entire time. If I give him a chance—if I tell him the truth—I’m opening myself up for heartbreak. And that’s always scary.

“Then we’ll be here to help you put yourself back together,” Carter replies. When I turn to look at him, he’s leaning forward with his arms resting against his knees, brown hair a tousled mess. “You know you can’t avoid pain, but not everyone is going to leave you, Mia. You won’t know who’s going to stay until you give them a chance.”

The two people in this room with me will never leave. They’re going to be the ones who stay. Ronan could run. He could run far away from me and never look back, but he’d still be there. Just outof reach in my heart and mind, and I’d be forced to live with it for the rest of my life.

“It’s your choice, Mia. It’s always been your choice,” Josie mutters.

I know that. I just don’t know how to make it.

“What are you doing here?”

Carter is walking toward me, hands stuffed in the pocket of his hoodie. Further behind him, Ronan trails in with Lezak prancing at his feet. My heart thumps against my chest—clearly more excited to see the puppy than the man holding the leash.

I don’t get a chance to answer Carter because the second Ronan unhooks the leash, the small bundle of golden fluff charges straight at me. Laughing, I reach down to scoop him into my arms, happily accepting all the kisses he eagerly gives. “Hi, puppy!”

“Should I be offended that he zoomed right past me to get to her?” Carter’s sad tone barely pushes into my puppy-induced haze of happiness. “I think he hates me.”

When I look at the two men, I find Ronan wearing a fond smile, fully focused on me and his dog. Unable to be on the receiving end of a grin like that for too long, I look away. “Don’t take it personally, Carter. I think he’d pick Mia over me, too.”

I hide my own grin in the fuzzy fur of the golden retriever’s head. “What can I say? Dogs love me.”

“They’re not the only ones,” Carter mutters under his breath, then groans when Ronan elbows him in the side.

I set Lezak back on the deck, looking between the two of them with a frown. “What was all of that about?”

“Ignore him,” Ronan insists. I don’t miss the glare he sends Carter. “I’m guessing we all got the same cryptic text message?”

“You mean the one from Bryce that told me to meet him here at eight o’clock at night and to make sure Josie doesn’t know?” Carter squats to give the puppy a belly rub, but his eyes stay locked on us. “Do either of you know what this is about?”

Ronan takes a seat next to me, sighing as he stretches his bad leg out in front of him. “No idea.”

I resist the urge to check him over for any obvious sign of something being wrong. He’s had a long couple of days, which I know get to him. “He better get here soon, though, because mysterious Bryce freaks me out.”

Ronan laughs, reaching down to scratch Lezak between the ears now that the puppy has made his way back over to his human. “It’s because he’s bad at it.” Lezak playfully nips on his fingers. My heart swoops at the soft smile he gives his dog. “He either acts way too dramatic or not dramatic enough.”

Carter stands once he’s sure he’s lost the attention of the dog. He chews at his bottom lip. “You don’t think they’re breaking up again, do you?”

“Absolutely not.” There’s not a lot in my life I’m certain of, but this is one of them. “They’re too disgustingly in love to ever break up…again.”

Ronan nods in agreement. “They’ve gone through too much shit to let anything get between them now.”

Carter doesn’t look as certain.

Footsteps echo and all of us turn in time to see Bryce emerge from the side door. Predictably, Lezak barks and takes off toward him. Bryce cheerfully greets us, stopping long enough to scoop the dog into his arms, and closes the distance between us.

“What’s going on, dude?” The nerves are evident in Carter’s voice. “If you’re breaking her heart again, I’m on her side this time.”

Bryce squints at his best friend, mouth set in a firm line. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Abrams is worried he’s about to be the child of divorce,” Ronan explains. “Do you blame him, though? That text message was cryptic.”