She looked directly at me.
“And I learned that missing someone doesn’t automatically mean you need them to survive.”
I nodded slowly.
“That sounds healthy.”
“It was terribly inconvenient.”
“I imagine.”
She smiled.
“But I missed you, Alex.”
The words landed somewhere deep in my chest.
“I missed you too.”
She looked at me for a long moment.
“Are you still afraid?”
“Yes.”
“Of Daniel?”
“Of hurting him. Of hurting you. Of becoming another person who makes your life more difficult.”
Karen reached across the table and took my hand.
“Alex, my life is already complicated. You didn’t create my divorce. You didn’t make Michael lie to me. And you didn’t take away the years I spent trying to make that marriage work.”
She squeezed my fingers.
“I am responsible for my own choices now.”
I looked at our joined hands.
“Then I have one question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you still want to kiss me?”
