But even as I relished the prospect of catching another wave, I couldn’t shake the talk we’d just had. Because as much as I hated to admit it, I knew that Harrison was right. He’d taken a chance on love and now he had the life of his dreams. I never even allowed myself to consider what my life could be like with Emilia at my side because it hadn’t felt possible. But that was fear talking.
Fear of rejection.
Fear of losing something that meant more to me than it did the other person.
Fuck. I was letting my fears run my life. When had I become that person?
“You can do this,” Harrison said, as if reading my thoughts.
Although maybe he was talking about the massive wave barreling towards us?
“Start with a decent apology and see where that gets you,” Harrison continued. “I promise you, she’s worth fighting for.”
He jumped onto his board and started paddling out towards where the waves were forming.Thatwas the approach I needed if I was serious about trying to win Emilia back. I’d have to get right into the center of the drama, immerse myself in it, and find a flow state to make it work.
Emilia didn’t know it yet, but I was a tidal wave heading right for her.
31
EMILIA
Winston and I waited in line at my veterinarian’s front desk behind a very curious puppy who kept craning his neck up towards Winston’s soft travel bag.
“You’ve never smelled anything like this, have you?” I asked the little coffee-colored pup.
His person turned around. The young woman smiled at me and nodded towards the bag. “Oh, do you have a kitten in there?”
I laughed. “Not quite, but my buddy is very friendly. Is it okay if they meet?”
“Of course, this is a well-puppy visit, and I’m all for socialization,” she said. “The more new and positive experiences, the better!”
I unzipped the bag and placed Winston on the ground in front of the puppy, who leapt backwards in shock when Win poked his head out of his shell.
“Oh my gosh, aturtle! Bailey, what do you think of that?”
I didn’t bother correcting her. The puppy jumped and twisted in front of a typically watchful Winston until the receptionist called my name.
“That’s us,” I said as I tucked Win back in his bag. “Good luck, Bailey.”
“Hi, Emilia, just wanted to give you a print out of your invoice,” the receptionist said as she slid the paper across the desk towards me.
I frowned at the ‘paid’ stamp on it. The invoice was for three hundred seventy five dollars that I absolutely had not paid them. At least… I didn’t think I had?
“Hold on. Do you have my card on file or something?”
She shook her head. “We do not. Your friend told us that he’s sponsoring Winston’s care from this point on, so you won’t have to worry about it. He also mentioned that he’s setting Winston up with insurance, but that’s not fully processed yet.”
My heart thumped in my chest even as I tried to talk myself out of getting excited about what she meant. “Myfriend?”
“Uh-huh,” she tapped on the keyboard in front of her and squinted at the screen. “A Mr. Ashford?”
My mouth dropped open but I had to play it off. “Oh, okay. That’s uh … that’s nice.”
“Sure is,” she paused to look up at me. “The older Winston gets the more expensive his care is going to become. This friend of yours seemed very committed to making sure your old man gets the best possible treatment for the rest of his life.”
“Yup, it’s great,” I said simply, because I was so shocked that I couldn’t come up with anything else.
I walked outside in a daze and got into my hot car, not even bothering to crank the AC because I was having an out-of-body experience. Winprobably preferred the warmth anyway. I needed to call Drew and thank him for his generosity before I did anything else, but also to let him know that it wasn’t necessary and that it didn’t change anything between us.
