I frowned. I had?
He remembered? He’d been sprawled on the couch, sleeping off a bad night. I hadn’t bothered sneaking out the door.
“I just hope it’s not another twenty-five years before I see you again, Giddy. Have a safe trip.”
My irritation was as hot as a brand. Was he trying to guilt me? After what he’d done? What he was doing? “I plan to have a nice life. Goodbye, Dad.”
I punched the screen to disconnect and stomped back to the window. I’d have a nice life. I’d have it all. I’d take the millions I wasn’t spending on Percival Farms and invest it somewhere. I’d be able to buy whatever land I wanted, wherever I wanted.
I could have it all.
And I’d start by telling Autumn I didn’t want this to be the end of us.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Autumn
The bustle of the restaurant around us had a corporate vibe. Women were in power suits or skirts, trendy footwear, and stylish blouses. The men looked much like Gideon had when I’d first met him. Not as good-looking, of course. Meanwhile, I was in jeans and rubber-soled boots that were really snow boots but could pass for odd loafers. My sweater was cable knit and made with almost black yarn flecked with color. It looked a lot like my cat, actually.
Gideon was back in his crisp jeans, a long-sleeved shirt that he’d wear when he was working but didn’t have to be on video. He didn’t have on a coat. Where he was going, the temperature would be thirty degrees warmer. He’d shoved everything in his suitcase.
The tinkling of glassware and forks on plates was all around us. The clientele was corporate, but the placehad a rustic style with wooden beams and exposed brick walls. It was trendy, no matter the crowd.
I studied my menu. My hunger had been absent since he’d dropped the news he was leaving early. He had a possible new job. A new venture. He’d return to Las Vegas and create that legacy that was so important to him.
And I’d return to my job. To my little house. I would be content in life. I had prepared for this. I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t beg. This was the end and I was ready.
But I might get another cat. What were the odds there’d be another in the dumpster at school?
“Have you decided what you’re having?” Gideon asked politely.
“I’ll probably have the club sandwich.” What were the chances I’d walk out without wearing part of it on my sweater?
When the server appeared, Gideon put down his menu. “We’ll both have a club sandwich. Can she get an extra olive on top?”
The server grinned and gave me a look that said,Aren’t you the luckiest girl in the world?
If only she knew. I returned her smile. I’d had my time to be lucky. Today, I’d be strong. My future was the same as my past before Gideon, only I wouldn’t be waiting and wondering if my Prince Charming was on his way. I was okay being single. I was okay not settling. I had my jobs and my family.
When I glanced back at Gideon, he was studying me, a crease along his brow. “Everything okay?” he asked.
A tiny fissure in my determination formed. I sewed it up as securely as the quilt on my bed. No emotions were going to ruin my last hour with Gideon. “Just fine, youknow, for a first last first date. Or is it a last first date? First and only first date?”
His expression went flat. “Does it have to be?”
“Excuse me?” I’d talked myself into a circle. What had I been trying to say?
“Does this have to be our only date?”
Confusion swirled my thoughts into a flurry, just like a snow globe. “What do you mean?”
“I mean we can still see each other.”
I stared at him. He wanted to keep seeing me? My hope shone through that mental crack I thought I had repaired. No. It wasn’t possible. We lived in separate states. “How would that work?”
“I have a lot of vacation.”
“Unless you take this new job.”
