A prolonged goodbye wouldn’t be any less painful. Watching her board the plane, especially if I caught any discomfort as she made her way inside, wouldn’t set me the least bit at ease. But she didn’t want me to hover, and I couldn’t do any more for her at the moment. Just stay in constant touch and hope her health continued going in the right direction.
“Sundays when you don’t have work on Mondays still seem weird. At least I don’t have to worry about heading back right after vacation,” Julie said as we waited for her flight to board. “Hopefully you can get some sleep on the plane. Doesn’t look like you had much last night.” She elbowed my side, her eyes narrowing into a scowl.
Once we’d arrived at the gate, we’d found out my flight was scheduled to depart a half hour after hers due to a delay, so I would have to watch her take off. I always hated saying goodbye to her, but as I suspected, this time, it was bordering on excruciating.
But I couldn’t tell her that or show it. I’d deal with the still confusing-as-fuck feelings on my own time.
Our heads jumped up at the boarding call for New York.
“Well, this is me.”
I turned as Julie stood from her seat and hung the strap of her carry-on bag on her shoulder.
“Oh wow,” she mused as her gaze caught on her hand. “We never took our rings off.”
I peeked at my left hand, and sure enough, the plain silver band gleamed back at me.
“Maria must have been too high on newlywed bliss to realize,” I joked as my eyes fell on her ring when she grabbed the handle of her suitcase.
“I guess so.” She lifted her head, a soft smile pulling at her lips when her eyes met mine. “I’ll keep it on until I get home. I wouldn’t want to lose my fake wedding ring by sticking it in my pocket.”
“I guess I will too. So I don’t lose it.” I tried for an easy smile, the thought of pulling it off my finger too sad for me to ponder or understand.
“I better go before they take off without me,” she said with a nervous laugh.
I nodded without a word and pulled her to me, cinching my arms around her as tightly as I could.
“Hey, you’ll see me soon. Maybe not in person for a while, but I promise I won’t hide my face anymore.” Her chuckle vibrated against my chest as she drifted her hand up and down my back.
“You better not.” I searched her glossy gaze as all the words I wanted to say got trapped in the back of my throat. “Text me when you land. Have a good flight.”
“You too,” she said, planting a kiss on my cheek. I was tempted to turn my head to catch her lips, but I kept my gaze forward.
“Talk to you soon, doll.”
A laugh escaped me when my lips found her forehead.
“Talk to you soon, darlin’.”
I kept my feet rooted to the floor as Julie made her way to the front of the line, scanning her boarding pass and disappearing into the jet bridge.
I always missed her the second we parted ways, but this gnawing in my chest as she left was new. There were a shit-ton of reasons why it seemed as if a piece of me was leaving on that plane, but none that I was ready to face.
12
LANDON
“So, talk to me.” Will, one of the VPs and the closest friend I had in Charlotte, settled onto the couch in my office after our Monday morning meeting dispersed.
“About what?” I asked, swiveling my chair away from the computer and wishing I could escape all the work that had piled up because I had the audacity to take off on a Friday.
“Your weekend in Vegas? Tell me all about the showgirl you brought back to your room.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“I don’t think they call them showgirls anymore.”
“Hot cocktail waitress, singer, whatever. Please, dude.” He dropped his head back and groaned. “I was knee-deep in the Barnes project and need to live vicariously through your exploits this weekend.”
“I hate to break your heart, but there were no exploits. I was there with old friends, and there was no time for any debauchery.”
