Theo nodded. He knew that. He supposed he always did. Falling in love with Amber had been the easiest decision he’d ever made. And the most fulfilling.
He had never been happier in his life than in the months since she came to work for him. He could see their future so clearly, and whether or not that included being the mayor, Amber was there next to him. But he had done what he could to show her, and he failed.
“I lost her.” Theo blinked. He didn’t intend to burden George with anything more than lifting her fork to her mouth, but never in his life had he wanted anything more than Amber. Not his job. Not the respect of the town. He loved her so much it hurt to breathe.
Georgie continued to play. “Do you love her?” she asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“Does she love you?”
Theo didn’t hesitate. “Yes.” He knew it, even if she had never said it. The look on her face, the joy that lit her up from the inside out whenever he told her he loved her hadn’t lied. She loved him. “But she’s scared.”
“Fear is a powerful thing. Sometimes love needs space to breathe and grow,” Georgie said gently. “Continue being the man she fell in love with and let her find her way back to you when she’s ready.”
Theo went home, threw the ball for Puddin’, gave her belly scratches, and an extra treat. He answered more emails from his largest donors about his next steps, assuring them of his commitment and strategy moving forward despite the recent setbacks.
He thought about every run they had taken and every timeshe didn’t believe in herself, and how he had believed enough for both of them. She needed to believe in herself now.
He made dinner and gave Puddin’ her bone, and stood on the back patio and watched the sunset.
He picked up his phone and sent a message.
Theo
I love you. P.S. Eat a vegetable.
She didn’t even recognizeherself.
Amber lengthened her stride when she hit Main Street and concentrated on her breathing. Running for the hell of it. Who would have thought? But every day for the last three weeks, she had woken up, put her sneakers on, and dragged herself outside to run knowing that if she stopped, it would be so much harder to start again.
She was so tired of starting over.
In the weeks after she left Theo, she had looked for something, anything, to distract her. She went back to the pub and picked up some shifts to pay the bills, even though Theo paid her a bonus in her final check that made her gasp. She wasn’t going to be eating ramen and bananas for dinner for a long time.
She considered calling Lucy about a dozen times to experiment with a new color for her hair. She went out with Johnny and Charlotte a few times, but being around their new love was more painful than she could handle.
She looked for anything to distract her, but in the end, she found herself lacing up her sneakers instead.
God, running still sucked. But Theo had been on to something. Sometimes you just had to suck it up and push through.
Tears pricked her eyes at the thought of Theo, but she’d hadenough crying in the last three days to last a lifetime. While she ran, she thought about patterns. Hers.
How many times had she been on the cusp of something good in her life only to sabotage herself? For so long she had thought it was just her thing. She was just flighty and irresponsible, despite being surrounded by successful women. She was the odd man out.
But every time her sneakers hit the pavement, her thoughts became clearer.
Flightiness wasn’t a personality trait. It was a defense mechanism she had perfected. She wasn’t the flawed one in her family, she was afraid. Afraid of failure, yes. But she was even more terrified of success. Every time she got a hint of it, she did something to ruin her chance of happiness. Her lungs burned and sweat dripped into her eyes. It stung, but she welcomed the discomfort.
The runs were never easy. Maybe they never would be, even after consistently training, but she wasn’t afraid of the work anymore. Today, her lungs were tight. The band of her sports bra dug into her shoulder painfully. She welcomed the physical pain. Used it to push farther.
Main Street was waking up when she ran down the sidewalk. She waved to several people but didn’t stop to talk. Theo’s office light was on. She didn’t look to see if he was inside. But she wondered what suit he was wearing today. Did he sleep last night, or had he lain awake until the early hours like she had? She missed Puddin’s kisses. She even missed Theo’s green juices. She missed him.
Theo
I love you. P.S. Eat a vegetable.
She didn’t respond, but she looked at the text a million times a day. And she thought about patterns.
