“I don’t know what else to do,” she whispered. “I don’t know who else to turn to.”
Poppy nodded ever so slightly. “All right,” she said in a low voice. “I just hope you’re not making a mistake.”
“I’m not,” Corinne said forcefully. “I know it’s a lot to ask. But you’re the only one I can trust.”
Poppy placed her hands over her eyes and stood like that for what seemed like a long time. “All right,” she finally said. “I’ll mention Hong Kong to your parents tonight.”
Corinne cleared her throat. “Can you do one more thing? Can you tell Will that I’ve . . . left? Be sure to make him understand.” There was no way she could tell Will she was leaving herself. The secret would be plain on her face, or she would blurt it out when he asked why she was breaking up with him.
“Okay.” Corinne peeked at Poppy. She was trying, Corinne knew, not to judge her. And for that, Corinne loved her with all her heart.
Shortly after that conversation, she’d received a phone call. She stared at the screen, astonished to see Dixon’s name in the caller ID window. He hadn’t called her in months; that he reached out that day seemed fated. “Hello?” she’d answered tentatively, hoping her voice didn’t sound thick with tears.
“Corinne.” Dixon’s voice cracked a little. “Hey.”
There was small talk—Dixon mentioned he had returned from London, Corinne said Poppy was now president of Saybrook’s. The next thing she recalled was Dixon drawing in a breath. “So your messages. I just got them. My voice mail didn’t work overseas.”
“Oh.” Corinne’s mind went blank. She tried to remember when she’d even left those messages. Before Will, which seemed like several lifetimes ago.
“I didn’t . . . ,” Dixon said haltingly. “I missed you . . .” He trailed off and coughed. “I’m in Corpus right now, but maybe we could . . . I don’t know . . .”
“I’ve missed you too,” Corinne said. And she did miss him. She missed how easy it was with him. And she loved him. She loved that they’d never have to sneak around, that they understood each other’s backgrounds. She could see the future she had once planned with him within reach again. All she had to do was grab it, let this year pass, never look back.
Yes, she would return to Dixon. The summer had been full of mistakes, but this would set some of those errors right.
“Okay, good,” Dixon said with ease. Corinne could tell in his voice that he was smiling. “I’ll visit you soon, then.”
“Actually, that’s not possible,” Corinne said fast. “I’m leaving for Hong Kong.”
“Oh.” Dixon sounded surprised. “For how long?”
“Almost a year,” Corinne answered. And then she’d told him that he shouldn’t visit her, either—she would be busy day and night. She knew it seemed as though this was his punishment for blowing her off all summer. Good, let him believe that.
The e-mails she wrote to Dixon over the next nine months were some of the most heartfelt Corinne had ever penned. Dixon’s replies were lighter, but he held on until she returned. Not once did she hint at what she was going through. Not once did Dixon ever guess—then again, he wouldn’t have in a million years.
And as for Will? A day after arriving in Virginia and settling into the beach house she’d rented, she’d called Poppy to check in. “Did you tell Will I left?” she’d asked. “Yes, I did,” was all Poppy said.
“Miss?”
Corinne opened her eyes. The cab had stopped in front of a pleasant, well-maintained split-level on a quiet street. Lace curtains hung in the windows. A basketball hoop was fixed above the garage. The front door was open; through the screen Corinne could see a jumble of dolls, Legos, and other kids’ toys on the stairs. Her heart lurched.
“We’re here,” the driver said to Corinne.
Corinne pushed a few twenties into his hand and watched as he drove away. Panic overcame her as he turned at the intersection and disappeared. Maybe she should have told him to wait. What if this was the wrong house? What if she couldn’t go through with this? What on earth was she going to say?
She faced the house again, took a deep breath, and walked up the concrete steps to the front door. A small wooden sign that read “The Griers” sat on a little plastic outdoor table on the tiny porch.
Before she lost her nerve, Corinne reached out and rapped on the metal screen door.