Where do I even start? And will anything either of us have to say change things?
“So,” he starts, wringing his hands together. Our eyes meet and from the look in his, I know he’s thinking the same thing. “Is your stomach alright?”
I give him a puzzled look, wondering what he’s talking about. Then remember I told Grace that I wasn’t feeling well before I went back to the motel last night. “I’m fine. Well, I mean my stomach is a mess, but not from actually being sick.”
“I’m sorry.” He grimaces. “I was worried about you.”
Part of me feels bad that I didn’t stay and talk to him. I know how much he feels things, how deeply he cares, and I know he must have been worried.
He pats the spot on the stairs next to him again. “Please, will you sit and talk with me?”
I hold my ground, just far enough away that I won’t be tempted to sit, even though every part of me wants to because I’m exhausted. All I’ve wanted since my plane landed was to take a breath—to get some rest and calm down—but I guess I’m having this conversation today after all. I know that if I sit down next to him, I’ll melt into him and forget everythingthat’s been swirling in my brain since last night and bask in his warmth.
I take a steadying breath and fold my arms over my chest. “What is there to talk about? I heard everything you told Slade last night.”
“Tell me what you thought you heard.”
My shoulders go rigid and I stare him down, trying not to cry as I say the words out loud—what’s been scaring me. “You’re leaving for Seattle. You’re taking the apartment Slade got for you, and… you’re selling Gloria’s.”
“Good,” he says, catching me off guard with his confident tone and a little smirk to go with it. “I’m glad to see you can listen, at least a little bit.”
Did he really just saygood?
I throw my hands out to my sides. “Good? How is any of what you two talked aboutgood?”
He clasps his hands together between his knees again, but he doesn’t flinch. He just looks at me with that brightness, that compassion, that love I know is still there between us, even if I wish it wasn’t because it would make this so much easier.
“Good because now I can get right to the point. I can tell you what I wanted to tell you last night, at The Hatch, before you left.”
He stands up and steps toward me, leaving just inches between us when he looms over me. I fight every urge in my tired body to lean into him and press my cheek to his broad chest and be wrapped up in his arms.
He swallows and I can see just how tense he is, despite probably being as exhausted as me. “I am going to be in Seattle.”
I palm my face in exasperation and shake my head before jabbing a finger into his chest. He looks down at the finger with an amused smile before I continue ventingwhat I’ve been holding back. “I don’t know why I ever believed you. Were you ever really planning on staying?”
“Part-time,” he emphasizes those syllables and wraps his callused hand around my finger, pulling it out of his sternum, “I’m going to Seattle,part-time,for the next two to three months.”
He holds my hand and my heart skips a beat at the sudden inkling of hope. “Part-time?”
He nods. “Yes, it’s going to suck for a while. I’m going to be stretched thin—working here and there—but it’ll be worth it.”
“Why only two to three months? Who’s going to run the new restaurant after that? What about Sly, and the garage, and Sterling Springs?”
The corners of his mouth lift into the brightest, proudest smile that nearly makes my knees buckle. “Slow down there. Don’t make me remind you of your original nickname, Miss Verbal Spewer of?—”
I shoot him a glare and he laughs, but I think he gets the message that now isn’t the time for jokes.
“OK. Remember how I said it’s my job to make sure the people that work for me are always growing?”
“Jade?” I ask, feeling that inkling of hope grow into something that feels tangible and real enough to grasp onto.
“Yes, she’s going to take it over. She’s from the Pacific Northwest and wants to be closer to home, but more importantly, she’s earned that chance. I’m going to help her get up to speed and settled in, but it’s going to be her restaurant when this is all said and done. While that’s happening though, I will be taking one of the bedrooms at the apartment Slade leased without asking, like the dumbass he is. After that, it’s his problem. And as for Sly and the garage, he said it’s finally time they hire someone to help pick up the slack.”
I take another breath, feeling like the oxygen I didn’t know I was missing has started to return to my lungs.
He’s not leaving me. He’s going to stay.
“What about when you’re done helping in Seattle? You’re selling Gloria’s. You talked about a price and said that you can’t get it over with soon enough.”