She swallowed hard. "I­I'm sorry about the note." She shored up her confidence, knowing she had to own up to the fact that she had run this morning. "I had to leave because I was running late to get here. There wasn't time for"

"For goodbye?" He cut her off, and the way he whispered the word, she heard the hurt in his voice, the wounded acceptance of what they'd shared coming to an end. He shrugged, as though trying to rid himself of a great weight that rested ...