“You’re adorable.” I smiled when she narrowed her eyes at me. “I love seeing you geek out over things.”
“You did good then tonight.” She wiggled her eyebrows and took a long sip, releasing a sexy moan. “Perfection.”
“Is counseling off the table?”
“Damn, Connor, coming in hot.” She chuckled and set her mug down. Her pretty fingers wrapped around the cup, her nails a bright red. “It’s not off the table. I’d love if we could make a habit out of seeing someone. But the second you’d have to cancel or miss one, I’d be upset, and even now, with all our trust, I feel like you’ll abandon me.”
“I won’t.”
Her gaze grew tender.
This moment was one I wanted forever. Her sitting there all cute, a little whipped cream on her face, her beautiful eyes staring at me with love and concern. I leaned forward and wiped it off with my thumb, licking it off my finger. She gave me a gentle smile before dropping more marshmallows into her cup.
“What are you thinking?” I asked, wanting more of her honesty.
“That I love this new connection, but when we leave the bubble of Cherrywood, that it’ll go back to normal. I know you’re trying to figure out a way to have a lifestyle change, a change of pace, but at what cost?”
“What cost?” I clarified. She didn’t understand. We could take a pay cut if it meant keeping our marriage strong. We had enough in savings.
“Yes, Connor. You getting fired doesn’t help us. You cutting off your dad sounds nice, but you’ve been here three weeks. That’s a blink of our life.” She pushed off the chair and wrapped her arms around herself. “He’s your only family left. He’s… Do you really want him out of our life?”
“You don’t like my dad.” My head throbbed. I didn’t anticipate tonight going like this. “Are you defending him?”
“I want us to find balance. You’re going to the extremes, and that’s stressful.”
“Having you walk out of our condo was stressful. Seeing your left finger empty is stressful. Figuring out how to not let my dad intimidate me? Easy compared to losing you.” I crossed the tile and couldn’t stop myself from touching her. Hurt and uncertainty radiated from her, which was okay. I could stop it.
“You agree I need a life change, a balance, and there’s no way that’ll happen unless I beat the bullies. I’m standing up for what I believe in, and if they can’t see my vision, then I need to leave the company.”
She trembled.
I rubbed her arms up and down, noting how tense she was.
“I’ll be offered a severance package for half a year, which is plenty of time for me to find a better role for us. I even looked—there are twenty jobs downtown I could apply for right now. Or if we’re open to moving states—”
Her whole body tensed, and she gasped. “Move states?”
“Laney.” My tone held a hint of irritation. Her face, muscles, body—all of it gave her discomfort away, yet she said nothing.
“You need to tell me what you’re thinking. I don’t want to guess.”
She swallowed, pulling on the collar of her shirt as she chewed her lip. I hadn’t seen her act like this in a while, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of me, or something else. Either way, I hated it.
“Baby, tell me, please.”
“I don’t like that you didn’t talk to me before you did all this.” She sniffed, and her eyes glistened. “I don’t want tomove back to the city. I miss living here, in Cherrywood.” She pushed away from me and started pacing.
My stomach bottomed out at her admissions, sending me off-balance and gripping the counter for support.
She continued, “I like how I feel here, where I’m surrounded by people I know and love. I’m not alone here. I’m… alone in the city, Connor.”
She wanted to move to her hometown. She was lonely. My mind checked off each comment like a checklist, remaining neutral to them instead of reacting. My pulse raced as I fought the urge to argue. She had said those things before, but this time it felt real. Serious. She looked at me, already wincing, almost like she was prepared for me to freak out, and I hated that.
It hurt me that she didn’t feel comfortable sharing every thought or feeling she had.
“I’m not sure I could live here when all the jobs are in the city. I could commute, but that would mean more time not at home… What’s your ideal world then, hon?”
“I don’t know!” She pinched her nose and her shoulders slumped. “I didn’t plan to have this reaction tonight. I’m sorry. I ruined a perfectly good night.”
