But I wouldn’t blame him if he got out as soon as he could. I was probably a walking, talking reminder of why he’d spent last night canceling his wedding.
I shifted in the passenger seat. The silence was uncomfortable, though I had no idea how to fill it. And it didn’t help that traffic was slow. It was a Sunday, but there was probably a big event tonight in downtown Pittsburgh. A concert? A sportsball game of some sort? I had no idea. It was just weird to see the world going on like normal while Eric’s and mine had been turned on its ass.
Maybe that meant our lives would get back to normal someday. I had no idea. Nothing felt anything like normal right now, and it was hard to imagine ever experiencing normal again.
Surreptitiously, I watched Eric as he drove. I couldn’t imagine what was going through his head right now; I was off-balance enough with this breakup and the realization that I’d been Selena’s sidepiece. He’d been cheated on, had to cancel his wedding, and had to put most of his possessions in storage while he moved out of his own home. That had to be rough.
Out of nowhere, gaze still fixed on the road, Eric broke the silence. “You work remotely, don’t you?”
I studied him. “Uh. Yeah? For the most part? Why?”
He glanced at me. “Do they let you work from anywhere?”
“Within reason, sure.”
“What about paid time off?”
I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. Maybe sniffing around for a lead on a new job? Trying to change everything about his life as long as he was going through a major shakeup? So, I played along. “They’re pretty generous with vacation. Four weeks a year.”
Eric nodded, adjusting his grip on the wheel and focusing on the line of taillights in front of us. “Any chance you can take a three-week vacation on a moment’s notice?”
“A three—what?” I blinked, but then my brain caught up a little. “Wasn’t your honeymoon supposed to be three weeks?”
Eric nodded again. “Yeah. And my father-in-law—” He grimaced. “Selena’s dad said I could spend some time at his cabin up in New England. He knows I love that place, so he said that since I’ve already got the time off work, I might as well go there to decompress.”
It took me a moment to process what he was saying. “Are you… Are you asking me to come with you?”
He shrugged. “If you want to? Since you’re tangled up in all this shit, too, and I mean, I think I owe you for everything.”
“No, you don’t. If anyone does, it’s her.”
“Still.” He glanced at me, his expression completely serious. “It won’t hurt my feelings if you say no. It really won’t. But the offer is open if you want a quiet place to lick your wounds.” He shot me another glance, a tired but mischievous grin on his lips. “And what betterfuck-youthan taking her place on her own honeymoon?”
A laugh burst out of me. “Was that where you two were spending your honeymoon?”
“Oh, God no.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Shehatesit up there. Every time we went for family stuff, she’d groan and complain about it.”
“But you like it?”
“It’s nice. Huge place. All the amenities. And it’s right on a lake. It’s not a luxury cruise like we were doing for our honeymoon, but for three weeks of decompressing after this? It’s perfect.”
Huh. When he put it like that…
I shifted a little in the passenger seat. “I need to check in with my boss. I’ve got a fair amount of PTO on the books, but on short notice…” I thought about it. “I could probably get away with it if I do some work while we’re traveling.”
Eric glanced at me again, eyebrows up and eyes full of interest. “Yeah? So you’re game?”
Hell, forget taking advantage of the trip to lick my own wounds. If taking me along brought him even this much back to life, then what was there to think about?
“For three weeks out in the middle of nowhere, as far away as possible from my cheating ex?” I snorted. “Fuck yeah. Sign me up.”
He laughed and we bumped fists over the console.
“So, where exactly is this place?” I asked, quickly warming up the idea.
“Maine. It’s about a fourteen, fifteen-hour drive from here, so I usually break it up into two days.”
I nodded. “Seven and seven—makes sense.”
