I shoot her another glare. “I told you. If I find therightplace…”
She shakes her head. “You won’t. You don’t take risks, Austen. It’ll never happen, because you need everything to be perfect, and it’ll never be perfect.”
Something about her words cut me deep. Deeper than they should. I stare at her, and I can see the bitterness in her expression.
“Unless…” She stands up straighter, dropping her arms to her sides. She looks me up and down as I unfold two pairs of jeans, two pairs of chinos, and some black dress pants in case of impromptu fancy dinners. Again, not that I expect to go anywhere fancy, but it’s good to be prepared.
“Unless you aren’t going because of the properties…”
I stiffen at her tone, annoyed with her sudden interest in my plans. Usually she leaves me alone, so why is she up my ass all of a sudden?
What did I do to deserve her attention that I haven’t done in seven years?
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I bite. Her tone is accusatory.
Savannah twists her lips. “I think you know exactly what I mean, Austen,” she says bitterly. I throw the rest of my clothes in the suitcase. “Or rather who.”
Her voice carries a hint of jealousy and my jaw tenses.
“You keep Cam out of this. This trip hasnothingto do with him,” I say.
“So you’renotgoing to see him at all, then?”
My jaw tenses as I grind it because her words are full of bitterness. She’s never liked Cam. I’m sure those lost years were a victory for her, and that realization angers me just as much as her words.
“Of course I’m going to see him, Savannah. He’s my best friend.”
Savannah shakes her head.
“You’re wasting your time. On him, the same man who didn’t speak to you for seven damn years, who all of a sudden wants to be your bestie again? Talk about sus, Austen,” she nips. “You are wasting all your time and potential on this… dream.” She waves around the room. “This fantasy nerd shit that I thought you’d have grown out of by now.”
I have to focus on my breathing because every word is a stab to my gut.
“It’s time to be a fucking adult and give up these stupid childish—”
The hurricane in me breaks at her words, and I grip the sheets beneath my suitcase.
“You have a lot of fucking nerve, Savannah, you know that?”
Her sapphire eyes meet mine as anxiety starts to swell within me, as the tears threaten to rise from their depths.
“I—”
“You call me childish, but I’m not the one who throws fucking temper tantrums when she doesn’t get what she wants. At least I’m not the one who’s so fucking fake she has norealfriends.”
I grab my sketchpad and throw it on top of my clothes, heading for the bathroom to grab my skincare stuff and my travel toothbrush set.
“I don’t need friends!” she yells. “News flash, this isn’t high school! You’re twenty-eight years old, and it’s time to grow up, Austen! Focus on a real career, a real—”
“Grow up? I have doneeverythingyou have ever asked of me, Savannah, and I have put my dreams, my goals, on hold foryou.Because that’s what agrown mandoes for his wife.”
“Oh, come off it. I didn’t ask you to—”
“I don’t ask for shit from you!” I say, the words too sweet on my tongue. They’ve been festering for too long, waiting to be said.
Savannah blinks, stunned by my words, and I can’t blame her.
“Bullshit! You’ve asked me for plenty of things,” she nips, her gaze flashing from my face to my chest, and then back up. The judgment in her gaze is evident as she scowls at me.
