“I can hear those thoughts swirling around in that pretty head of yours. You want to tell me I’m full of shit.”
I laugh despite myself.
“Did I get it about right?” he asks with a bittersweet smile.
“Yeah.” My voice is barely more than a whisper.
“I’m not here to argue or fight, love.” I close my eyes to put up a stronger fight against the tears that desperately want to escape. “Like I said downstairs, I want to show you something.”
I shrug. “Okay. What?”
Karan drops his hand away and pulls out his phone, tapping and scrolling for a bit before he turns the screen over to me.
“On Boxing day, this is where we’re going. Just you and me.” My eyes go wide. “We’ll be back here by New Year’s. I already checked with my family for Cayce and Corey. Everyone’s happy to share babysitting duties.”
I open my mouth, but only a strangled sound makes it out. My gaze darts from Karan’s face to the image of the gorgeous A-frame cabin on his phone. It takes a while for my brain to put two and two together and understand what he’s telling me.
“You booked us another cabin?” I finally ask.
“Yeah. It’s not far from here. That’s where I went while you were taking a nap.”
My brows furrow, so Karan clarifies. “I wanted to go see it in person. Make sure it was perfect.”
“This…” I scratch my neck with a nervous energy. “If you think a few days on a romantic getaway is going to fix—”
“Rachel.” Karan lowers his head to be in line with mine. “I know. I can see you’re struggling and overwhelmed, and this is to get you out of here. We can take some time and talk.”
At the quivering of my chin, he sighs deeply.
“I really want to try, Rachel. Please. Say yes.”
It’s tempting. It really is. The fact that Karan is willing to sacrifice time with his family to spend it with me alone says a lot, but still. It all feels like too little, too late.
At the same time, what harm can this do? At least, if we fight, we won’t be surrounded by his family. I won’t be in enemy territory while he has his entire clan to support him.
This could make or break us, but at least, at long last, this hell I’ve been living in would be over.
I gather all of my breath and courage before I respond:
“Okay.”
Cahpter 26
Rachel
October 2024
“Mommy’s home!” I exclaim before shutting the door behind me.
The callout has its desired effect, and before I can start to take off my coat and boots, my two boys come running from the living room in my direction.
“Mommy!” they both squeal.
I pull them into my arms.
I love my job, and I love helping my patients, but there’s nothing quite like seeing my little boys after a long day. Or, in the case of a last-minute weekend morning shift like this one, a long morning.
“Mommy, Mommy, come see,” Cayce insists as soon as I let them both go.
