Chapter 2

2.

And now, thirty-year-old Soren was using that ugly, agonizing memory to shame me.

All for that waitress, Josie.

My face went pale. I swayed on my feet, a lump forming in my throat that made it impossible to speak.

Soren seemed to realize he’d gone too far, rubbing his temples in frustration.

A few friends quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Clara, you can't really blame Soren this time. That Josie girl ambushed him outside his office."

"Yeah, she was on her knees, crying about how she was going to die. You know how expensive her medical bills are. Soren just has a soft spot."

A long time ago, I also thought Soren just felt sorry for her.

A girl who never even finished high school, waiting tables at some rundown bar downtown. I never imagined he could actually love her.

Not until Soren started pulling strings to get her appointments with specialists for her heart condition, paying one bill after another.

She mentioned she'd "never been anywhere nice," so he took her to the company's annual conference in Orlando.

She said she had a terrible childhood, so he personally took her to Disney World to make up for it.

I only found out when a stranger posted a photo of them kissing under the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom.

It turned out the man who was too busy for Thanksgiving dinner with me had become a hero, making someone else's dreams come true.