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Her quivering chin stops as she fully gives in to the sobs, covering her eyes with one hand.

It’s then I notice that her fingernails are much shorter than usual, picked off below her fingertips.

What I wouldn’t give to take that hand in mine, to do anything to take her pain and transfer it to my heart instead of hers.

“What’s the thought factory churning out?” I ask, and Danae gives a choked laugh .

“That I hate how much I want you here with me.

That I hate how it hurts so badly not having you here, but ending things wouldn't fix it because it hurts even more to think about never seeing you again.

" She pauses briefly to throw a hand up in the air. "That I hate baseball even more now. That I hate feeling overwhelmed by helping Jason because I’m the adult and should be able to handle this better. That I hate that Jason has to learn to rewire his brain because the people who were supposed to take care of him and love him didn’t, and that just sucks.

That I hate how I can relate to him by feeling like I wasn't enough to be loved by my parents. That I hate everything about everything in this situation,” she says, voice strained from sobs.

“I just miss you,” she adds, blowing out a breath. “It’s ridiculous that I lived thirty-one years of my life without you, but then knowing you for eight weeks suddenly has me falling apart when you’re not around. It physically hurts to be so far away from you. I hate it.”

“Well, I don’t hate it,” I murmur, and she spears me with a look.

I smile as warmly as I can through the screen.

“I do hate that I’m not there physically with you.

And of course I hate everything Jason’s been through, everything you’ve been through.

I hate how overwhelming all of this is—and it is overwhelming.

You shouldn’t feel guilty for being overwhelmed,” I say, and she inhales slowly.

“But I don’t hate that you want me around. I kinda love that.”

I’ve managed to coax a smile out of her with those words, and I’m taking every small victory at this point. “I can change your flights to get you here the first day of spring break so we can see each other two days sooner.”

Danae sighs. “Tempting. But I promised Jason he could go to a birthday party for a friend from school that weekend and that we’d go to the zoo.”

“I bet there’s a zoo here. I could find some kid’s birthday party for him,” I joke. Now the smile spreads fully across her cheeks, erasing the sorrow lines.

“It will be okay. We’ll be okay,” she says.

“Will you really? Are we really okay?” I ask.

“Yes,” she replies. “We’re okay. I’m sorry I got so upset earlier. There was nothing to disrupt the overdrive cycle of the thought factory, and I completely overreacted. That was unfair to you.”

“Nope, no apologizing for that,” I cut in. “You’re allowed to feel the feelings. This isn’t an ideal situation, especially for a new relationship, and you don’t need to pretend like it is. It sucks. End of story.”

“Speaking of stories, how’s the audiobook coming along?” Danae asks.

I groan. “Sly change of subject there, babe. I’m gonna give it to you, though, since you had a rough day.

” She fights a smile, and what I wouldn’t give to kiss those lips right now.

“I’m trying. I swear I am. But I’m only on, like, chapter three or something.

I can’t multitask while I’m listening, so I haven’t had a lot of time to listen. ”

When she quirks a knowing eyebrow, I add, “And I still don’t really enjoy it. But I’m trying it. For you.”

“And for Jason,” she adds, eyes twinkling. “He’ll be so excited when you finally know who Ron, Hermione, and Draco are.”

Covering my eyes with one hand, I pretend to grimace but then grin and run my hand back through my hair. “I’ll give it my best effort. No promises.” Staring into her eyes, I cup the phone in my hand as though I was cupping her face. “I really wish I could kiss you right now. Just so you know.”

Danae kisses her fingertip and then places it over the camera briefly. I mimic the gesture and sigh. “Nothing like the real deal, but that’ll do for now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

After we hang up, I quickly video call Sam.

“So what’s the situation?” Sam asks, forgoing a greeting altogether.

After I fill her in on the basics of what Danae shared with me, I say, “Hey, I need you to stay there in KC. I’ll cancel your flight.”

“You mean I’ll cancel my flight,” she says with an eye roll. “Why?”

“Jason’s birthday is in a couple of days, and I’m not gonna be there,” I say.

Sam clucks her tongue. “Yeah, that sucks.”

“Exactly,” I say. “Danae said she’s having a small party for him with a few friends from school, but I need you to take a present over there and say hi in my place. ”

“You know Joe is gonna throw a hissy-fit when I’m not at the meeting tomorrow to sync schedules for the season? Not that I’m complaining about getting to annoy Joe,” Sam says.

“I’ll take care of Joe. You take care of Danae and Jason,” I respond.

“What present am I getting?” she asks.

I smile. “I’ll tell you exactly where to go and what to get.”