Miss Matched [COMPLETED]

39. Simon

I'm trying not to read too much into her breathy yes in the middle of a NY City sidewalk, but there's a massive amount of hope stirring in my chest while we walk to the closest bank to deposit her check.

"I think you should take mine too," I say when we reach the doors. "I don't care about the money. I've only ever wanted them to leave me alone."

She opens the glass door to the bank and calls over her shoulder, "You should deposit it. Maybe you can use it for a down payment on a house or a vacation somewhere you've always wanted to go."

Like the Scottish Highlands? Know anyone I can bunk with, Tay? Except I'm not pushing my luck, so none of those words leave my mouth. "This money makes me feel guilty."

She frowns and turns to face me in the line for a teller. "Why?"

"I've just made so many mistakes—with you, with Jada, with the other women. Maybe if I'd confronted GameSetMatch sooner..."

"Si, we just confronted them. What are they changing about their business model after talking to us?"

"Dick all," I admit.

"Exactly. We're just numbers to them. Numbers coming in. Numbers going out. They've branded themselves as an organization who can guarantee success, but the bar for success is so low, you made it over when you didn't even want to." She takes a deep breath.

"Neither of us can go back. We can't change any of the decisions or choices we've made so far. You've accepted a lot of the blame for how things went between us. But—" She tucks her hair behind her ears. "But I don't think I'm blameless. I knew something wasn't right with us six years ago, and I was too afraid to speak up because I didn't want to lose you...and then I ended up losing you anyway."

The teller calls her up, so I don't get a chance to respond. Her impending move to Scotland weighs heavily on my heart. Too late to change what's already done.

After we've both deposited our checks, I take out the NY City Guide from my back pocket and unfold it. "We're close to Central Park," I say. "And if I remember correctly, you've always wanted to do the rowboat thing."

She glances up at me, and her eyes are soft with something I don't dare name. "Yeah. Is that okay with you?"

I flex my bicep for her. "I could row us around a piddly lake."

A hint of a smile touches her lips, and she squeezes my arm. "You're right. These muscles could do it." She falls into step beside me. "Did you know they have egrets and herons and loons on the lake?"

On instinct, I kiss her temple and draw her into my side. "Trust you to know the local wildlife."

We wander toward the nearest entrance to Central Park, and Tayla's hand slides down my arm until our fingers are linked. Holding hands? My heart kicks. Don't question it. Don't read into it. You asked for one last good day, and you're getting it.

These are memories I'll carry with me when she boards the plane tomorrow. The reminder she's leaving makes my gut clench. Whatever she wants, I'm going to give and give and give until I've wrung myself dry. There will be lots of time for regrets, but I'm not going to let today, any part of today, be one of them.

When we get to the lake, I pay for the rowboat, and we climb aboard, laughing when the boat rocks so hard I'm sure one of us is going to topple in. Once we're settled, I follow Tayla's direction and we row out into the lake, careful to carve our own space.

"So, why Scotland?" There's no point in pretending it's not happening. Tomorrow she'll be gone.

She bites her lip and doesn't meet my gaze. "Angus was the first one to email me?"