“Yeah, but I feel like he’s trying to make my world smaller…” I said hesitantly.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he wants me to quit my job.”
“What?” asked Gabriella in surprise.
“Why?” followed up Erica.
“I don’t know.” I ran my hand through my hair frustratedly. “He thinks it will avoid the scandal of it all. Or at least lessen the blow if I no longer work for him.”
“Okay…but you’ve worked there for years…” Gabriella’s brows furrowed. “What are you supposed to do now?”
“He said he’d take care of me.” I shrugged.
“While you… what? Just live up in his tower all day?”
“I guess. I don’t know. It’s like he wants me all to himself up there. Part of me likes it, though. When it’s just us two in the privacy of his apartment walls, it feels so right. So easy. But I also know I need more than just that.”
“Yeah. And the baby!” said Erica with a confused expression on her face. “Are you all just supposed to stay up there forever? It’s like a fucked-up fairytale.”
I let out a sigh of frustration. “I know. I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, how do you feel about him?” offered Gabriella.
“Like a lovesick idiot.” I laughed softly. “I can’t believe I’m falling for a guy like him.”
Falling was the wrong word. I was pretty sure I had tripped hard and had been in a freefall for a while. Jeremiah just did something to me.
“A handsome billionaire?” laughed Erica.
“It’s not just that,” I said with a small shake of my head. “I’ve never had this intense of a relationship with anyone. It’s up and down. It’s been filled with my life’s highest highs, but also its lowest lows. And I didn’t think it could get much lower after the last relationship.”
I laughed at myself. “I don’t even know if thisisa relationship. I care about Jeremiah. Deeply. Uncontrollably. He has this quiet intensity about him, but he’s also warm and playful. He takes care of me. I mean, he freaking took that creep out. I know he would do anything to protect me.”
“But how many times have you called me crying?” asked Gabriella warily.
“I know. We’re a mess.” I ran my hands down my cheeks frustratedly. “It’s like I’m meant for messy relationships. You guys saw what happened with Nick.”
“Asshole,” Erica muttered under her breath.
“Exactly,” I agreed. “We were messy. Toxic. But this thing with Jeremiah is different.”
“How?” asked Gabriella.
“With Nick, he was a liar. A cheat. But I was so afraid of starting over with someone new, that I ignored what was right in front of me. I dug my heels in and tried to make it work.”
I sighed.
“Maybe I’m doing the same thing with Jeremiah.”
“Jeremiah isn’t Nick,” Erica reminded me.
“And you’re not the same Sadie you used to be,” said Gabriella.
“But Jeremiah does have flaws. A lot of them,” reminded Erica.
I nodded. “But with him, I’m not scared to start over. I’m scared of losinghim,” I admitted thoughtfully as I looked down at my cup of lemonade. I blinked back tears.
