His response convinced me that I’d made the right choice. I’d explained my feelingssoclearly, and he still wasn’t getting it.
“I understand if you want to take the appliances back. They’re not all installed or anything; it’ll be easy.”
“Gwen,no,” he sounded disgusted by the thought of retaking his gift. “Those are all for you.”
“Okay. Thank you.” My voice was getting shakier, so I cleared my throat. “I guess this is goodbye.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I could tell by his abbreviated answer that I wasn’t the only one feeling raw.
“Bye, Harrison.”
I paused for a moment to see if he had anything left to say, and when the line stayed silent, I hung up and let the tears fall. I was hidden behind the refrigerator in my living room, so the workers couldn’t see me as my heart broke in two.
“What the hell is going on in here?”
The loud voice echoing over the installation noise made me jump.
“Sarah?” I called out. “You’re home!”
I quickly swiped beneath my eyes and squeezed through the mess to wrap her in a hug. She managed to catch a glimpse of my face before I dropped my head onto her shoulder and squeezed her.
“What’s all of this, and why are you crying? I’m so confused. Did I see abluestove in our kitchen?”
I choked out a laugh. “Yeah, you did.”
She pulled back, grasping my shoulders and staring at my face. “And what’s with the waterworks? You don’t like the blue?”
My chin trembled as I tried to hold back the ocean of tears. “Um, a lot has happened since you left. I didn’t want to burden you with it while you were away, since I know how intense your trips can be.”
“I’m so confused,” she shook her head. “Are things not good with Harrison? Is this some sort of consolation prize or something?”
“That wasn’t his intention but yeah, I guess it turns out that it is.”
An incredibly annoying drill fired up in the kitchen, drowning out our attempts at a catch-up.
“Okay, this isn’t going to work,” Sarah said. “I want afulldownload of everything I missed, so let’s go down to the beach.”
I nodded. Maybe it would feel better talking about the many ways Harrison had hurt me with the waves lapping at my toes?
“C’mon,” Sarah said as she grabbed my hand. “We’ll tackle this together. And remember, no matter what, we’ll always have each other.”
I squeezed her hand and felt a tiny bit better.
31
HARRISON
Istill hadn’t gotten used to the chill that had settled over the executive suite since Gwen left. Susan was as efficient as ever, but I found myself missing the gossipy, chatty version of her. It was like she wasdisappointedin me, even if she’d never admit it out loud. She could be vocally judgmental about my business decisions, but she knew better than to weigh in on my personal life.
At leastnowshe was opting out. Prior Susan was more than happy to critique whichever model or actress I had on my arm. Gwen seemed to be off limits.
“Good morning, Susan.” I paused at her desk, hoping for a crack in her icy demeanor.
A single quick glance, then she went right back to typing at a breakneck pace. “Good morning. You’re early again.”
I usually didn’t roll in until nine, but lately I preferred to get lost in my work as soon as the sun came up. Susan, ever the over-achiever, always showed up at seven thirty.
