The Memory Keeper: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Romance(8)

Hannah focused on the endless expanse of snow-covered concrete and city life out her window to try to clear her mind, before she turned her attention to her work emails.

“I’ve got more snacks if anyone wants some,” Georgia said as she removed Liam’s bag and shoved a fistful of assorted packs of crackers through the gap between the two front seats, sending Jerry wriggling again.

“No, thank you,” Hannah said, reaching back and petting Jerry. Her stomach was in knots and her appetite was nonexistent from everything she’d dealt with today, as well as the idea of a fourteen-hour car ride that propelled her toward all the people she’d basically abandoned.

“That’s all right, thank you,” Liam replied. “We can probably stop for dinner once we get out of the traffic.” He pulled off on the exit, merging onto the highway and coming to a halt in another mass of cars that stretched as far as Hannah could see.

“Maybe I will have a chocolate,” Hannah said, reconsidering. The sweetness of it might help her mood.

Valentine’s Day was two weeks ago, but the chocolates at the airport had still sounded deliciously festive. She and Miles had been so consumed with their respective projects that they’d both missed the holiday completely. She had woken up that morning and briefly wondered if he’d surprise her with anything, but then she’d arrived at work and been so frenzied with her tasks that she’d forgotten about it—until her coworker Amanda had received a big bouquet of roses and two Mylar heart balloons. On her way home from work, Hannah had bought Miles a card, but it just didn’t seem right to give it to him since he’d forgotten hers, so she’d stuffed it into her laptop bag until she could toss it in a public trash bin. She’d put on a brave face at work when everyone was sharing what their significant others had given them the next day at lunch, but inwardly she’d felt lonely and sad.

Georgia passed the heart-shaped box back up to the front, and as Hannah surveyed its contents Georgia pointed to a round one with coconut flakes on top. “That one’s really good,” the woman offered. “I got one of these hearts at the airport too, but I already finished mine.”

“Was that what you were eating when you asked me to help you get your suitcase off the conveyor belt at baggage claim?” Liam asked with a chuckle, his eyes on the road.

“Yes!” Georgia said. “My mouth was full, and I couldn’t talk,” she explained to Hannah, “but my heavy bag was going around the thing faster than I could grab it. It had already circled the loop twice by the time I asked Liam. I was scrambling to get it while I searched for my boarding pass. At that point, I still thought I was gonna have to sprint to my next plane.” Georgia put Jerry on a cushion in his carrying case and set it beside her on the seat.

Georgia’s mention of catching her plane brought back the image of Miles and Becky on the escalator. “I was on my way to Barbados,” Hannah told them. “I’ve always wanted to go there, and finally I decided to make it happen.” He looked over at her as she pinched the coconut-covered chocolate between her fingers. “I was surprising Miles…” She hesitated. “My ex—with a trip for two. But it seems like he’d already had a romantic getaway with someone else.”

Liam’s face clouded with thought. “I’m sorry.”

They fell into a heavy silence. The only sound was the shushing of the tires against the snow on the highway and the radio in the background. Hannah looked out the window again, but the view wasn’t registering. Instead, flashes of the last two years swarmed her mind. All the nights Miles had come home late, tiptoeing in after she was asleep, the times he’d said he had to run out instead of staying at the apartment, the wine a “coworker” had spilled on his shirt, the gift she’d found in his dresser when she was putting away his laundry that he’d said he was shipping to his mother… It was becoming clear that he’d been deceiving her for a while. She popped the chocolate into her mouth, her focus on savoring the rich flavor of it to avoid the alternative, which was crumpling into tears in front of Liam and Georgia.

“Guys can be such jerks,” Georgia said. “No offense.” She leaned forward and patted Liam’s shoulder, causing his attention to waver from driving for a second before his gaze returned to the road.

“None taken,” he said quietly.

That moment of confrontation at the baggage claim returned to Hannah, and she wondered again if Liam had been about to intervene between her and Miles. She looked over at him now, just as his head swiveled toward her, and they locked eyes for a second. He offered a knowing smile, as if he could read her thoughts, and it gave her an unexpected flutter. The surprise of it made her turn around to talk to Georgia and refocus, but Georgia had put her headphones on, and she’d begun doodling on a pad of paper in her lap. Liam’s eyes were back on the road, and Hannah sank into her thoughts once more.

She stifled a yawn and Liam looked over at her again. All the emotion today had taken a toll on her.

“Assuming we take turns driving,” she said to him, “I’ll never make it if we try to drive the entire journey tonight.” Hannah yawned again. “Are either of you two night owls who can drive tonight?” she asked loudly, twisting around to get Georgia’s attention.

Georgia pulled one of her earphones from her ear. “I have night blindness so there’s no way y’all want me to drive,” she said while she opened a pack of peanut butter crackers, causing a stir from the crate beside her. She slipped her doodling into the large leather portfolio she’d been carrying when Hannah had first met her. “But I’ll pay for gas.” Georgia popped a cracker into her mouth and brushed the crumbs off her thighs. “Jerry’ll need a potty break at some point, too.”