“Welcome to the Las Vegas Breast Cancer Research Center. How can I help you?” the woman asked.

Bryna took a deep breath. “I’d like to make a donation.”

Then, she explained everything to the lady, including the one and a half million dollar donation total.

The woman’s mouth was nearly on the floor by the time Bryna was finished. She handed Bryna some paperwork to fill out. “Here you go, honey. I’m going to find my manager, so she can speak with you. Give me a second.”

Bryna filled in all the information that she could and put the check on the clipboard.

A short African American woman came out of the back room and smiled at her. “You must be Bryna,” she said.

“That’s me.” They shook hands. “This is Eric.”

“So nice to meet you both. I wanted to personally thank you for your incredible donation to our center. If there is anything that I can do for you, please let me know. You are touching so many lives with this money, and with it, we will be one step closer to finding a cure to this horrible disease that continues to hurt our nation and the ones we love.”

Bryna swallowed and nodded. “There is one thing you could do for me,” she said.

Thanksgiving came and went.

It had been way better than it had been last year. She had spent a lot of time playing with Zoe and missing Eric. He had come back early for the game that weekend, but it had still been a long stretch without him. She was starting to realize that her life revolved around him but in a good way. He was good for her, and when she was away from him, it made her heart heavy.

When she came back to school, it was the big end-of-the-year game against USC that would decide who would go to the conference championship game.

Bryna walked back into the apartment after her classes and sank into the couch. Trihn was there, watching TV, and Stacia came out of her room.

“I have so much homework,” Trihn groaned.

“So many tests,” Stacia agreed.

“I wish we could spend the rest of the year watching TV and vegging out on junk food,” Bryna said.

“And not gain a pound,” Stacia said.

“Amen,” Bryna agreed.

Trihn glanced down at her phone when it beeped. “Ugh!”

“What?”

“Neal just canceled. He was supposed to come over to hang out.”

Bryna rolled her eyes. “And his excuse?”

“He has to work on his art project, and all of his paints are at his house.”

“This would be valid if he wasn’t a prick to you most of the time,” Stacia grumbled.

“You know it’s bad when the cheer slut agrees.” Bryna pointed her thumb back at Stacia.

“So true.” Stacia didn’t even try to argue.

Trihn shrugged. “I’m sure it’s perfectly valid, guys. You’re so negative. I’m going to go study, I guess.” She got up and walked toward her room.

Stacia sighed. “God, what a buzzkill.”

“I know. He drags her down. If I knew she wouldn’t kill us, I would plot sabotage.”

“He sabotages himself enough already. Everything he does irritates her, and she refuses to acknowledge it.”

“She’ll figure it out on her own,” Bryna said.

“Let’s hope so.”

“All right. I’m going to go to Eric’s, I guess.”

“You practically live there now, Bryna.”

She shrugged. “I like being around him.”

Stacia frowned. “Yeah, I know that feeling.”

Bryna grabbed her bag and headed out of the apartment. She wished there were a way to give her two best friends exactly what she had with Eric. It would be her gift to them if she could, but she didn’t think either girl would find it with Neal or Pace. They both needed someone who would love them unconditionally. No secrets. No strange distaste for their lifestyle. No bullshit.

She was halfway to Eric’s place when her phone rang. “Hello?” she answered after not recognizing the number.

“Bryna?”

Her heart stopped. Hugh.

“Hey,” she whispered.

She hadn’t expected him to get a hold of her. She had figured that after she sent in the money in his name that would be the end of it. She had asked the director not to include her name on anything related to the donation. This wasn’t her donation. It was Hugh’s. She had just put it in the right hands.

“I just received a handwritten card from the head of the Las Vegas Breast Cancer Research Center.”

“Really?” She swallowed.

He knew. He knew she had donated it. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so afraid. Of course he had to know. Who else would have donated that kind of money in his name? She had known that the charity might send him something after the enormous donation. She’d figured he would even put it together that it was her. It freaked her out wondering what he thought about it.

“It says that a donation was made in my name for one and a half million dollars.” He coughed and then cleared his throat. “In honor of my wife.”

Is he choked up? She couldn’t tell. She didn’t know what to say. She never thought he would call her, and now that he was, she was frozen.

“Did you do this?” he demanded.

Her stomach dropped out. He was pissed. He must be angry with her. Maybe he thought she had disrespected his wife by putting it in her name. That wasn’t what she had intended at all. Fuck! She had thought she was doing the right thing.

“Yes. Yes, I did,” she managed to get out. She took a deep breath and barreled forward. “I’m sorry if you don’t approve or if you are offended. I couldn’t hold on to the money or the jewelry or anything any longer. It didn’t feel right to me. Since you wouldn’t accept it, I wanted to put it to good use though, and that was the only way I knew to somehow make all of this right.”

“I’m not mad,” he said softly.

“Oh.”

“Touched actually.”

Bryna’s jaw dropped, and she had to pick it up off the floor. “You’re touched?”

“It was thoughtful. I hate to say, I’m surprised, but I am.”

“Well, I don’t have the best track record.” She sighed. “I just…wanted to do something good.”

“This is good.”

She knew that voice. She could almost see his smile through the phone. He was happy, pleased even.

“Thank you,” he said.

Her throat closed up. She couldn’t take his thanks after what she had done. “Please, don’t thank me. It was your money.”

“Well, thank you anyway. After all this, it was nice to see that you meant well. Maybe we weren’t meant to be, but we were together for a long time. I didn’t want us to leave on bad terms.”

“Me either,” she admitted.

“I really wish you the best. It sounds like you are in a better place than when we left.”

“Things are better. I hope they are for you, too. You deserve to find happiness.”

She hated the way things had been left with Hugh in Barcelona. She had deserved his dismissal. She had deserved much worse. But it was so nice knowing that it wasn’t the end of their story.

Once she hung up, Bryna parked in front of Eric’s house, and she jogged inside with a skip in her step. He was out back, grilling, when she wandered inside.

“Hey!” she called, hopping out the back door.

“You’re in a good mood.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Burger?”

She shook her head. “No, thanks. I just talked to Hugh.”

Eric raised his eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“He wanted to thank me for the donation, and I guess we’re good now.”

He smiled. “Good. I’m glad that’s not weighing on you anymore. I know you were upset over what had happened in Barcelona.”

“I was. I mean, I was a bitch. Beyond a bitch. Inexcusable.”

“Well, sounds like he’s forgiven you, so maybe it is excusable.”

“Yeah. It just wasn’t at the time.”

“You’ve changed a lot since then. I think it’s okay to be forgiven for past transgressions.”

Bryna bit her lip and looked at the ground. Maybe it was time to forgive one last person in her life. “I’ve been thinking about Jude.”