I pat him. “She’ll add him to her prayer list. It’s very long.”

He grimaces. “I don’t mind the prayers . . . you told her we aren’t having sex. But she knows, Giselle; the woman knows.”

I grin. “She just doesn’t want to think about it. Technically, she asked if I had my own room at your place, and I said yes. Then I ran before she asked me anything specific.”

From behind, he wraps his arms around my waist and whispers in my ear, “She’s got no clue how naughty you are.”

I lean back against him. “Shh, no one does.”

Susan pops her head in. “Hey, hate to interrupt, but I need to get going. Will you walk me out, Giselle? I’d like to chat a little.”

Devon lets me go, and I grab her container with two slices of pie—the woman needs a reward—and head her way as she makes her goodbyes to Mama. She and I stop in the foyer. “Congratulations on the book agent. You’re a multitalented person. I had no idea you were a writer. I think it’s incredible and exciting.”

I blush. “Thank you. It’s good to have your support.”

“I hope it doesn’t interfere with your studies.” She searches my face.

“I had a rough last semester, and this summer hasn’t been much better, but I’m ready for fall semester.”

She breaks out in a smile. “Wonderful. I was hoping you’d say that. I spoke to a colleague Friday, and there’s an opening at CERN.”

I gasp. “Now?”

“Yes. I didn’t tell you right away, but he just texted me during lunch, and I got excited! He wants to talk to me tonight. I’m sure he’s going to say ‘Send her over.’” The rest of her words jumble and get lost, my mind racing as we move out the door.

I find a seat on the porch and sit, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. Her words seem far away, and I strain to listen, but there’s a roaring in my head.

“Sent him your records and a copy of the application you filled out for Dr. Blanton. He’d already read your paper and was suitably impressed, but I want to make sure it’s what you want . . .”

“Of course.” My chest feels tight. And wrong. I rub it.

I notice her taking the seat next to me. “It starts September sixth, so you’ll need to expedite a passport if you don’t have one—”

“Devon’s first home game is September sixth,” I say, interrupting her. “We play the Cowboys.”

She gives me a quizzical look. “Is that a problem? The football player?”

He isn’t just a football player. He’s everything.

She continues. “We can use your research as credit for your classes. Usual internships range a year or longer if you get in a deep study. Some students are awarded doctorate degrees based on their work—just an incredible opportunity. Giselle? Are you okay?”

I nod, but my head bangs, a throb right in the front. I swallow thickly.

Twenty-one days, and I can be in Geneva, Switzerland. “Yes, I’m fine, just shocked. I . . . I didn’t expect this.”

She smiles and pats my hands. “Of course. I don’t have the okay yet, but I feel confident I will tonight after I talk to him and tell him you’re on board. I’ll text you what he says; then we can meet at my office later and work out the finer details. Sound good?”

I picture Devon in his yellow-and-blue jersey, taking the field and looking up to the stands for me. And I won’t be there. Dread washes over me.

“Giselle? Are you sure this is what you want? He’s already had one cancellation, and I don’t want to disappoint him.”

Right, he’s her friend and colleague, and she’s gone out of her way to work this for me.

“Are things serious with you and Devon? I thought your mom said you’d only been dating a short time, but . . .” She trails off, waiting on me to reply.

Are we serious?

He hasn’t said, but my gut feels what he can’t say, and I know that leaving right now would not be good. Nausea bubbles in my stomach.

“I don’t know” is what I settle for, and she nods.

“I was in a similar situation at Harvard.” She half grimaces. “He left for Caltech, and I went to CERN. Leaving him was the hardest thing I ever did.”

“You couldn’t make it work long distance?”

She shakes her head. “We tried at first, but eventually work took over, and we drifted apart. He’s married now with kids.” A sad laugh comes from her. “She’s a physicist as well, and I ran into them at a conference last year. Talk about awkward. I barely made it back to my room before I cried.”

My heart dips. “That’s terrible. Do you still have feelings for him?” It helps to talk to her; it gives me time to think through my muddled mind.

A sad smile graces her face. “Sometimes I think I made a mistake, you know, but then if it was meant to be, then . . . well, he wouldn’t have married her, and we would have ended up together somehow. Silly, right? To believe in fate?”

“No, it isn’t,” I assure her and describe how Jack and Elena met, a mistaken blind date, then how he showed up to be Romeo to her Juliet. “There’s an ancient Chinese myth that says if two people are destined to be together, then no matter how long it takes, their paths will continue to cross and intertwine. They believe there’s an invisible red thread that ties destined couples. The thread may knot or tangle but will never break.”

She sighs. “Ah, that sounds very romantic. I guess he wasn’t my thread.” She pauses. “Will your and Devon’s thread break if you go to CERN?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper, a niggling sense of doom tugging at me.

She gives me an unsure look, then nods and tells me goodbye and leaves. I watch her drive away, my throat dry.

Devon comes out the door. “Hey, you were gone for a while. Everything okay?”

I start, a long breath coming out of me as Devon laces his fingers through mine. Trepidation sneaks over me, thick and vicious. I can’t leave him. Right?

“Was she weird about your book?”

“No, not at all,” I manage to say. “She’s no Dr. Blanton.”

“Good.” He smiles. “So why do you look like someone just stepped on Cindy and her babies?”

Unease swirls in my gut. “Dev . . . I . . .”

“What is it, baby?”

I swallow down the words hanging in my throat. I can’t say them. “I want to go home.” It’s the truth.

He stands and holds me, rubbing his hands down my back, and I cling to him. “Me too,” he murmurs, his lips pressing a kiss to my neck. I arch closer, needing the reassurance of us.

My heart is already breaking. My body already misses him, picturing nights without him next to me, his leg thrown over mine, his arm curled around my waist as we lie under the stars.

We can do this together. We can.

I just have to tell him.

Chapter 26

GISELLE

I was going to tell him on the way home. I really was, saying the words in my head over and over: Devon, my dream of going to CERN is here. Will you wait for me?

Preston never minded the possibility of CERN, or perhaps he never believed I’d go, or more than likely he just planned on screwing around on me while I was gone.