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She looks as if I just slapped her. “Wow. Tell me what you really think of me, Easton.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Lennon, you know what I mean…”

“No, I don’t. What I’m hearing is that my best friend doesn’t trust me to know what I want for myself—just like my parents, just like everyone else…”

I reach out for her hand again, but she swats mine away.

“Lennon…”

“No, Easton. You know what? Maybe you hitting Justin was for the best…”

“What? Why?”

“Because now I know how you really feel about me. Seems we’re not as good of friends as I thought.”

Before I can respond, she rushes off, her silver dress sparkling beneath the lights until she fades from view.

For the first time, I understand Mom’s warning. Even the brightest friendships can fade.

My heart may have chosen Lennon, but that doesn’t give me the right to choose for her. She isn’t mine to protect, and I need to accept that.

She’s capable of making her own choices for her life—even if I know without a doubt that she’s making a terrible mistake with Justin.

But I guess it’s time to move on.

So that’s what I’m going to do. Or at least, I’ll try.

What I didn’t know yet is that the moment she needs me, I’ll fall right back into the same familiar pattern: loving her, protecting her, and forgetting that I might need protecting too.

Chapter 1

Lennon

But I Love Eggs…

Present Day (Ten Years Later)

“Mmm, good morning.” My boyfriend’s rough stubble rubs against the back of my neck as he pulls me into his arms.

I stretch, pushing my ass into his groin. “Good morning.” Before I can get too comfortable, I unhook his arms from around my stomach and sit up on the edge of the bed.

“Come on, babe. Come back to bed.”

Twisting to face him, I’m met with that lazy smile of his that drew me in two months ago that night at The Charming Bull, the bar I frequent when I need to let loose from the chaos that is my life right now. Ginny and I wanted to celebrate finishing our finals and our first full year of the nursing program, but the last thing I expected was to go back to a hotel with Adam and end up in a long-distance relationship as a result.

Only one more year, Lennon, and this rigid routine will have been worth it.

“You know I can’t do that. I have class, and then labs, and then…”

The eye roll is becoming his standard response every time I mention nursing school. “Yeah, yeah…and then clinical hours at the hospital.”

Standing from the bed, I grunt in frustration as I head toward the bathroom to brush my teeth and toss my unruly blond hair into a ponytail, since that’s all I have time for these days.

Adam follows me, rubbing the sleep from his face. I admire the scratch marks I left on his chest as I stare at myself in the mirror.

“Lennon, look, I’m sorry. I just…”

Turning to face him, I plant my hands on my hips. “When you asked me to be together, I told you that this year was going to be tough, okay? I know we barely see each other, and it doesn’t help that you live in Nashville and I’m here, but…”