‘Thanks for letting me have a clean slate with you, and for being one of the first people to welcome me back to town. It’s funny how when we’re young we feel like we need to get far away from where we grew up, or at least some of us do, in order to find ourselves. And I did learn a lot about myself while I was gone. I lived in a lot of amazing places, and I met a lot of interesting people but, in the end, I missed home. I missed the people here. I missed this.’ His gaze landed back on Annie. She felt her skin flush. Had he really missed her the whole time he was gone?
