Page 42 of The One

I couldn’t stop grinning. “Yes.”

“For a Bachelor of Science in nursing? Just like I applied for?”

I didn’t have to look at the paper—I was that sure. “Yes, baby. Just like you applied for.”

“Oh my God.” She tucked herself into a ball and rocked over the bed. “What about the others? There are still two envelopes to open.”

“You wantmeto open them?”

She nodded.

I thought about my words carefully before I asked, “Because you’re curious?”

“That’s one of the reasons.”

“And what are the others?”

“Rhett, please, the suspense is killing me.” She paused. “I knew you were coming over—that’s the only reason I haven’t ripped open the envelopes.”

I could understand the curiosity, but did that mean she was actually considering going somewhere besides USC?

A question I was going to ask once I found out if it was even a possibility since the worry could all be for nothing.

I set down her acceptance letter and picked up the next envelope. This one was from the University of California, Berkeley. I only had to read the first sentence since the wording was almost identical to the letter from USC. I picked up the final envelope and opened it, reading the first few lines before I set all the paperwork back on her desk and joined her on the bed.

She wiped her hands on her knees. “And?”

“I don’t know why you questioned it. You’re a badass, Lainey. Of course you got into all three schools.”

“What? Stop! I did? Really?” She shook my shoulders. “You’re not bullshitting me, are you?”

“Congratulations, baby.” I pulled her in for a hug.

She squeezed me back. “I didn’t think I’d get into all of them. I really didn’t. Especially Stanford—I thought that was a long shot.”

“I’m sure your dad is going to be pleased when he finds out.” I pulled back to look at her face. “I know he’s been pushing you to go to Stanford.”

“Yes.” She bit her lip. “He has been.”

I didn’t want to ask. And I hated that I had to even question this. “Is that where you’re going to go?”

She traced her hand across my face, starting with my eyes, moving to my nose, and stopping at my mouth. “I’ve thought about this so much, Rhett. What’s best for me. WhatIwant rather than what everyone else wants me to do.”

Why don’t I like the sound of this?

What the fuck caused her to change her mind?

“I swear it’s been keeping me up every night,” she continued. “And that was before I knew where I’d been accepted, so I was just playing all the different scenarios in my head, and it was eating away at me.” She swallowed, like her throat hurt. “Would people be happy with my decision? Could they accept it?”

“What are you saying, Lainey?”

She put her hands on top of mine. “I’m saying I’ve made a choice. I know what’s best for me and what I want.”

“And that is?”

I found myself holding my breath, my insides churning, as if I was on the verge of being sick.

If she was at Stanford and I was at USC, we’d be about six hours from each other, and I feared it wouldn’t work. I’d want it to, but I knew the distance wouldn’t make us closer. Neither would the partying we’d do separately and the booze we’d be drinking with our friends and all the shit that came with college that would test our relationship in every way.