Chapter 1

In the five years Herbert Harding and I dated long-distance, he never once came to my city to see me.

It wasn't until my twenty-sixth birthday that I worked up the nerve to text him.

"Today's my birthday. I miss you so much. Could you come and spend it with me?"

I waited a long time and he didn't answer, so I sent another.

"Are you busy? Am I bothering you?"

Hours went by before his reply finally came.

Just a few words: In a meeting. No time.

So I ordered a cake by myself and went to the restaurant, only to find Herbert, the one person who had no business being in this city at all.

Across from him sat a girl. I recognized her. It was Maxine Finley, the new intern at his company.

"Mr. Harding, I was playing on your phone this morning and saw it's Barbara Stephens's birthday today. Are you sure you don't need to be with her?"

Herbert smiled, doting on her. "I didn't like the idea of you traveling alone for work. It's just a birthday. Skipping one won't change anything."

The girl beamed and said in a coy little voice, "So that means I'm more important than she is?"

Herbert didn't say a word. He just gave a small nod.

The cake slipped from my hands and dropped to the floor.

A staff member stepped over. "Excuse me, ma'am. Is there anything I can help you with?"

I shook my head, turned, and walked out of the restaurant.

I wasn't celebrating my birthday. And I didn't want him anymore either.

……

On my way out, I glanced back one more time and saw Herbert take out a bracelet and fasten it around Maxine's wrist.

I'd seen that bracelet before. It was a new release from a certain brand.

I'd shown it to Herbert once. He'd barely glanced at it before saying, "If you want it, go buy it yourself. Don't drop hints. I don't have time to guess."

I never brought it up again, but I'd let myself hope that on my birthday he might remember, that he might give it to me as a gift.

He had bought it, all right. It just ended up on someone else.

So it wasn't that he didn't have time. I simply wasn't worth it.

Maxine threw herself happily into his arms and kissed his cheek, and Herbert pulled her in against him without missing a beat.

I picked up my phone and, testing him, sent Herbert a message.

"Where are you?"

He glanced at the phone, then set it right back down. No reply.

I remembered how, back when things were long-distance, Herbert would often go a full day before answering me.

I always told myself he was busy with work, that he didn't have much time to look at his phone.

It never occurred to me that he'd seen my messages all along. He just didn't want to answer.

Just then a woman's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Miss, your cake broke a moment ago. This is a little something from us to make up for it. Happy birthday. We hope you like it."

I turned. It was the waitress from before, holding a small slice of cake.

Happy birthday. Four simple words, and yet I hadn't heard them from Herbert once all day.

Seeing me stare in Herbert and Maxine's direction, the waitress spoke up with a trace of envy. "They really are so in love. Miss Finley loves our chestnut basque cheesecake. Every time Mr. Harding's here on a business trip, he brings her in, and more than once he's driven over himself just to buy a slice."

"Just now Miss Finley said she was too full to eat any more, and he still boxed up another one for her. He's so thoughtful."

I froze. It was a long moment before I could speak. "Every time? Drove over to buy cake?"

The waitress nodded. "That's right. Mr. Harding comes by almost every week. I don't know how a girl finds a boyfriend that good."

So he was willing to waste his time doing these trivial little things for someone else.

I thanked the waitress, turned, and walked out into the cold wind.