“Then let me pay for it. Money doesn’t matter. I’ve got enough of it,” he offered almost offhandedly.
“I won’t let you pay for it, Lucas,” I argued.
“God damn it, Morgan, stop with the pride bullshit. Let me pay for it. If it means it gets you back here quicker.”
“Lucas—”
“Stay until you get her settled. I’ll have Mo make some calls. He’ll sort out something in no time.”
“It’s not just about the money. I don’t want to leave her with a stranger. I should be the one taking care of her. You would do it for your mother, wouldn’t you?”
“Well, that’s something else entirely, isn’t it?” he asked shortly. What the hell was his problem?
“You don’t have to be such a jerk about it,” I all but shouted in the phone.
“So you’re not coming back,” he said quietly. The weight of my decision hit me like an atomic bomb.
It blew us both apart.
Silence.
That was all I heard.
Heavy, tense silence.
“She’s all alone here. We don’t have a lot of family and none that live nearby. She’s all I have, please understand,” I pleaded, tears dripping down my face.
“You have me, Morgan. Doesn’t that count for anything?” his voice broke.
“How can you make me choose between you and my mother? That’s not fair. I honestly can’t believe you’re doing this right now. With everything I have going on.”
“I’m not trying to make you choose, Morgan, but I thought what we have is important too.”
“It is important, but I’m not leaving my mom. I hope you can respect my decision.”
“I need you too, Morgan.” He sounded as if he could barely breathe.
That made two of us.
“You have your mother. Your sister. Your teammates. All my mother has is me. I want to be with you. I really do. But I can’t leave my mom. The decision has been made, Lucas.”
“You’re leaving me.”
“I’m not leaving you, Lucas. But I won’t be coming back to England to live. I can’t.”
“You’re leaving me. That’s exactly what you’re doing.”
More silence.
Thick and angry.
“If that’s what you think, then you’re not the man I thought you were,” I whispered, hurting. Devastated.
“I should have known this is how things would go. I knew better than to trust you.” Was he being serious?
“And I should have known better than to fall in love with a selfish celebrity who is all too used to getting everything he wants. Life doesn’t work that way, Lucas. Sometimes people have other obligations. It’s not all about you.”
He was acting like a toddler throwing a tantrum. I couldn’t believe it. Not after how thoughtful he had been in getting me to my mother. Where was that man when I needed him?
