Chapter 3

But my vision blurred, and I reached out instinctively to grab something—anything—to keep from falling.

My hand caught his. His skin was cold. Or maybe I was just burning up again.

That was when I noticed the ring on his left hand.

Five years ago, just three months after we broke up, I'd seen his WhatsApp story. He'd gone public with a new girlfriend.

Doing the math, it wasn't shocking he was married—or at least engaged—by now.

I couldn't put a name to the feeling. It just weighed on me.

I steadied myself and pulled my hand back like I'd been zapped.

His hand twitched slightly, and when he turned to look at me, his face was dark with disgust.

I stammered out an apology. "Sorry, uh… can we add each other on WhatsApp? You know, for… funeral stuff."

He scoffed. "There's nothing for us to talk about. If you need something, just have someone else let me know."

He meant Olivia.

I couldn't find words.

As he walked away, I saw him wipe his hand—the one I'd grabbed—on his suit jacket.

I pressed my lips together and looked away.

It was just a quick touch. Was it really that bad?

*****

The next morning, I got discharged from the hospital and dragged myself home.

Grandma was in a rare good mood, sprawled on the living room couch, eyes glued to the TV.

The smell of home-cooked grub hit me from the kitchen.、

I thought maybe the caretaker we hired was still around, but then I remembered she'd said she was taking today off.

Someone stuck their head out from the kitchen—it was Isaac Margan.

I froze for a second.

Isaac was my roommate, always drowning in work, stumbling home crazy late every night.

Seeing him here in the middle of the day? Total shocker.

He shot me a grin and waved me over. "Hey, go wash your hands—food's ready! Had a free lunch break, so I cooked up enough for all three of us."

I hustled to the kitchen to help out, feeling like a jerk. "Hey, I'm so sorry for making you deal with this."

Five years ago, my whole world fell apart.

Mom and Dad passed away one after the other, and we had to sell the house.

I moved Grandma into a rental with me. Finding a place in this city, where every square foot cost an arm and a leg, was brutal.

Isaac was my boss during my senior year internship, and when his old roommate split, he let me slide into the lease for dirt cheap.

I kept my head down, rinsing veggies and chopping them up.

Out of nowhere, Isaac looked at me and said, "Emma, you're looking kinda scrawny lately."

My hands froze, and a lump lodged in my throat.

For a split second, I thought about Daniel.

Five years since we last saw each other, and when we ran into each other again, he didn't even clock that I'd dropped weight.

Isaac's tone got softer, a little worried. "Hey, if you need me for anything, just holler, alright?"

I paused.

For a hot second, I had this wild urge to ask him to handle my affairs if I kicked the bucket.

Daniel probably hated my guts.

Sure, he took my money and signed the papers, but if he found out it was me who was gone, he'd probably think it was bad mojo and want nothing to do with it.

The words were right there, but then I remembered Isaac's mom is super superstitious.

Anything tied to death? Yeah, she'd lose it. So, I let it go.

We got the food on the table and barely started digging in when Isaac's phone went off.

He answered, but before he could step away, some dude's voice came blasting through. "You take over an hour to grab one freaking file? If you're done here, just say so!"

Isaac looked mortified, muttering apologies as he bolted upstairs to grab the file.

I grabbed a to-go container and packed up some food real quick, figuring he could eat in the cab.

When he came back down, I shoved it at him, but he gave me a sheepish grin. "I already grabbed a bite at the office."

Before I could say anything, he was out the door like a bat outta hell.

Grandma watched him go and sighed. "Poor kid."

I dropped back into my chair at the table, and she grabbed my hand, eyes twinkling. "So, Emma, what's the deal with Isaac? You into him?"

I knew exactly what she was fishing for.

I stuffed some food in my mouth and mumbled, "He's cool."

Grandma wasn't falling for my dodge. She sighed again, whipped out her phone, and started scrolling through photos.

"Alright, then check these guys out. What do you think?" she said, nudging the screen toward me.

Ever since early this year, when Grandma got so sick she could barely get outta bed, she had been obsessed with my love life.

She was no tech guru, but somehow, from her bed, she had been texting her old pals to play matchmaker, rounding up a dozen-plus blind date options for me.

I stared at the phone she pushed at me and took a deep breath. "Grandma, I…" The words just wouldn't come.

But halfway through, I just couldn't bring myself to say the rest.