Marianne fielded more calls dutifully, people and press wanting to know what the hell happened to our run for a public offering. Let them all be angry and confused. Let them think I’d lost my mind.
Maybe I had.
Or, for the first time since I was old enough to inherit the company, maybe I was finally thinking straight.
I wasn’t chasing “more” anymore.
I understood what “enough” looked like: Jessa, Theo, and our baby.
They were all I needed. I suddenly knew what I had to do.
I sent a text to Atlas, informing him of my plan, and climbed into my car. I headed north and within twenty minutes, Manhattan shrunk in my rearview mirror—as was the life I’d thought defined me, all of it fading fast.
My pulse was steady. My hands, too.
For the first time in days, I could breathe.
I slipped the red noodle into my shirt pocket. Right over my heart.
Every mile between us flew by, pulling me closer to the only person who mattered. I didn’t know whether Jessa would forgive me. Or if I could find the right words to convince her to take me back.
But fear wouldn’t call the shots anymore. I let go of all control.
I was going to bring Jessa home, somehow, someway.
This time, I wasn’t letting her go. I’d fight like hell to be the man she wanted—and the father our kids deserved.
Chapter Twenty-Five
MISSING PIECE
Jessa
I tuggedmy hair into a low ponytail, ready for another bartending shift at Hops. I grabbed the letter I wanted to mail on the way to work. For Theo, I’d written two more touching stories from me to him, one about how people come and go in our lives, but the memories we carry can last. The other was about Blaze the Dragon getting a little brother. I hoped he’d like that one best.
Things hadn’t changed much. I still thought about Griffin and Theo nonstop, despite Aunt Patty’s promises that my hurt and feelings would eventually fade. I took things day by day at this point.
With my keys in hand, I stepped onto the creaky porch. The low afternoon sun hit my eyes—and so did the glint of a sleek black Mercedes pulling into our driveway behind my rusted hatchback.
Griffin climbed out like a dream I hadn’t finished having, heartbreakingly handsome, andhere.
I hadn’t heard from him in a week. Not a text or a call. And now here he was.
He waved, a sheepish grin tugging at his mouth.
For a second, my heart tripped over itself, traitorous and fast. I scanned the back seat for Theo, but it was empty.
By the time I met him halfway down the cracked sidewalk, I still hadn’t decided if I wanted to hug him or turn him away.
“Would you mind moving your car? I’m late for work,” I said, shoving the letter at him before my hands could shake. “You can save me a trip to the post office and give this to Theo.”
He took the envelope but didn’t look at it. His eyes were on my house, hopping from the sagging porch swing to the chipped paint, and the overflowing trash cans.
His perfect jaw flexed. “This is where you live?”
The judgment in his tone stung. “Home sweet home, Holly Creek,” I said, crossing my arms. “It’s far from a penthouse, but we make it work.”
I could tell he wanted to argue, dressed in another immaculate suit that made him stick out like a sore thumb in our neighborhood of tired porches and rusted mailboxes.
