Good for You: A Novel (64)

Moments before she fell asleep, a fleeting thought came to her.

You’re a liar, Aly Jackson.



Aly awoke a new woman. Now, she was willing to bet that nearly every person who’d just slept twelve whole hours felt this way. But there was more to it than that. In the clear, bright light of morning, she saw how she’d overreacted. If Wyatt needed clarity, she would give it to him. If he didn’t want to tell her what was inside that envelope, she would have to live with that, too. As soon as she saw him, she would apologize so he’d know that she was willing to dial it back, and to make sure he knew he was in control of his choices.

And hopefully then, she would continue being one of those choices until she returned to New York.

Aly hummed to herself as she brushed her teeth and fixed her face. The smell of coffee wafted through the air, and it struck her as a good omen. Surely Wyatt was ready to put all this behind him, too.

But when she got to the kitchen, he wasn’t there. Instead, she found boxes scattered across the living room floor—at least eight or ten of them, by the look of it. Aly vaguely recalled some bumping and thumping in the night, but the second allergy pill had done a number on her, and she hadn’t gotten up to find out what the racket was.

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that the noise could have been Wyatt, boxing up all his things.

Aly’s stomach sank. It was too late for apologies—she’d already scared him off.

“Good morning,” said Wyatt, who’d just walked through the door with a large box in his arms. He frowned when he saw her expression. “I’m sorry it’s a mess, but I’ll take care of it.”

“I don’t know how you can say that,” said Aly tearfully, because it hadn’t registered that he was hauling the box inside, rather than outside.

He set the box on the dining room table. “Say what?”

“‘Good morning.’ It’s not a good morning at all,” she said miserably, throwing herself down in a chair. “I say one wrong thing—okay, maybe more than one—and you decide to just up and leave!”

“What are you talking about, Aly?” he said. He looked tired, and no wonder: apparently, he’d been up half the night packing.

“You said you were staying through the summer,” she said, blinking back tears.

“I still am. You’re the one who’s leaving.”

“Well, sure,” she said, sniffling. “You know I need to.”

“No, you don’t,” he said firmly. “We’ve discussed this. But this isn’t about your career, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “I mean, your need to know what’s going to happen. If you don’t know, you head for the nearest exit in order to regain control.”

“That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me.” As she wiped the stupid tear that had just escaped the corner of her eye, though, Aly realized it was also true. Here she’d been thinking everyone left, but that was backward; she didn’t give them the chance. After all, Seth wasn’t the only man she’d beaten to the punch. Really, the only person who’d ever preempted her was . . . Luke.

“Maybe I do like control. But apparently, so do you,” she said, looking pointedly at the boxes.

Wyatt crossed his arms over his chest. “Those are Luke’s. Not mine. I was getting some of them out of the shed. I don’t know what’s in them, but I thought you’d want to sort through them before you left.”

“I . . .” She didn’t even know what to say. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” said Wyatt. He walked over to her and reached his arms out. She hesitated, then stood and let him pull her into his embrace. Was there any better feeling? If so, she couldn’t think of one.

Aly stared up at him, as relieved as she was grateful. “I could come back in August. Just to visit, but maybe we don’t have to end this so soon,” she said. “And for the record, you don’t have to leave when fall comes. Stay as long as you want. After all, it is yours, too. I’m not selling.” She would need to tell Luis, who’d left her a few messages to see if she was interested in moving forward.

Wyatt’s eyes widened. “You’re not?”

She shook her head. “I think we should keep sharing it, even if I’m not here all the time. That’s what Luke wanted, after all.”

In fact, she’d decided this mere seconds before she announced it to him, but she knew it was the right choice. She would take some of the vacation she’d put off over the last decade at All Good and spend it right here in Saugatuck. And if James wasn’t okay with that, well . . . she guessed she’d just go work for Meagan.

“I won’t complain about that,” he said, hugging her even tighter. “And I really am sorry I overreacted yesterday. I felt like you were trying to use what we have between us to get me to tell you about Luke, but I realize that idea had nothing to do with you.”

“I would never do that. Not intentionally, at least.” She had wanted to know about the letter, but her affection had been an attempt to end their fight and feel better.

“I know, and I’m sorry,” he said. “Like I said, that was about me, not you. You know I have issues with people controlling me. Especially people who want something from me. My mother used to be nice to me when she wanted to get information about my dad.”