Now I’m certain I’m not imagining things.
“Look, Ash. Whoever’s calling you is clearly stressing you out. Want to tell me what’s going on? Is it your mom?”
“It’s not my mom.”
“Okay.”
She takes a deep breath and locks eyes with me. “It’s…a head hunter.”
Something about the way she says it has me on alert. Like I’m about to lose the footing I’ve been enjoying so much since she moved to Montana.
“You’re working with a head hunter?”
“I contacted one when I thought I might be laid off.”
That makes sense. But why…
“She called me out of the blue a few days ago. You know Mardi Parties?”
“Yeah. That huge company from back home.”
“Right. They have an opening for a position and want to talk to me. My head hunter scheduled an interview for this evening.”
“An interview for a job based in New Orleans?”
“Yes.” She waits for my reaction.
But I’m busy assessing her.
Her eyes are bright, but her hands are clenched like she’s nervous.
“Do you want this job?” I ask her softly.
“I adore what I’m doing here,” she says, and I can tell she means it. “And I just got here, so I don’t want to leave. But this is an incredible opportunity for me because the company is internationally-known. To have their name on my resume would be a huge boost if I ever wanted to open up my own marketing agency.”
“It would for sure.”
Her eyes lock onto mine. I can read hers as if they were my own.
“Are you worried I’ll be upset if you leave Montana?”
I can’t believe I’m able to keep the near-panic out of my voice, but I pull it off.
“Well, you and I are…” She cuts off.
This moment could go one of two ways. I could beg her to stay here like I desperately want to do. Or I could let her go to decide on the job of her dreams.
I take out the key Declan handed me not an hour prior.
“It seems like the stars have aligned,” I force out.
She furrows her brow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I’m moving out. Today.”
Her face falls. She recovers quickly, though, and I don’t allow myself to second-guess my decision.
Ashley’s had too many people holding her back her entire life. I won’t do it too. I love her too much to cage her like a bird—the exact thing she fears so much.
