Page 91 of A Cup of Autumn
Keaton had told her he was leaving, but every second with him, especially this past week, implied a strong connection between them.
The way he’d kissed her…
Parker stood behind the counter dressed as a Teenage Mutant Turtle. It was the only costume he would find, and he said a reptile counted as an animal.
Raine hurried past him with a brief ‘hey,’ tossed her clipboard onto the desk in the office, ran into the bathroom, and locked the door. She took a breath and another. Tears threatened to fall, but she didn’t have time for them. Raine blinked them away, staring at the ceiling.
That didn’t stop her eyes from reddening.
She couldn’t wash her face without ruining her cat makeup, so she fanned her eyes using a paper towel. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.
Sad eyes.
Still a little red.
But the downtrodden expression.
The lines around her mouth and on her forehead.
The sallow skin.
She gasped.
Raine recognized the woman staring back at her. It was how she’d looked after Emmett left and then broke up with her. Twice.
She couldn’t blame this time on him.
Time to pull herself together. She needed to be at the Boo Bash.
She pinched her cheeks to give them some color and peeked in the mirror. “Better.”
With her clipboard in hand, she went out front. She was almost to the door when Keaton came in.
“Hey.” Keaton held up an empty bag. “Pippa needs more candy.”
“It’s in the office.” Her voice remained steady. Surprising given the way her insides trembled.
“I’ll grab some.” He beamed with pride. “The Boo Bash is a huge success. I hope the association uses ours for a template in the future for events. I left detailed notes in the bin for whoever runs it next year. I’ll add a lessons’ learned sheet to the bin before I return it to Margot.”
“Sounds good.”
His forehead creased. “Something wrong?”
She should wait until later, but the news was tearing her up inside. “Garrett said you got a job in Boston.” The words cascaded out one after another. She couldn’t stop herself.
Keaton’s face fell. “I was going to tell you after we finished with the Boo Bash.”
He sounded sincere, but that didn’t stop her heart from hurting. “A good job?”
“Temporary, but being a visiting professor at a tier-one university will look good on my CV. They want my decision tomorrow. If I accept, I leave on Saturday.”
Raine didn’t think her heart could break any more. She was wrong. “Not much time.”
“No.”
She pushed her shoulders back, calling on every ounce of strength she had. They hadn’t known each other long enough for her to become his dream, but once again, she felt as if she wasn’t enough. Even if it wasn’t the same situation.
Still, Raine wanted to support Keaton. “If this is your dream, you have to accept the position.”
