“Oh, right.” She pushed around her half-eaten sandwich.
“Did you like him?”
“Very much. He was easy to be with and he always came through. I could trust him. Not like Harris, who bolts whenever it gets hard. Even when we were first together, I always knew I was going to have to be the strong one. The one in control. I couldn’t depend on him to—”
She pressed her lips together. Was that true? Had she known that about her ex? And if so, why had she married him? Whydid she think it was okay to be with someone she couldn’t trust to be a true partner?
“You’ve always been independent,” Ryleigh said quietly. “You’ve always taken care of me and everyone around you. You’re in charge—here at the store, in your marriage. You don’t let yourself be vulnerable.”
Which all sounded okay but Jax had a feeling there was a gut punch just around the corner.
“I think you’re afraid to be in love.”
“I’m not. I love you. I love the kids. I love Ramon.”
Ryleigh rolled her eyes. “You know I mean in love with a man. You’ve never taken the risk. Because loving someone means putting it all out there. You basically cut yourself open and expose every corner, then hope they still want you when they know the truth.”
“There’s a visual.”
“That’s why you lost Marcus. You won’t be vulnerable. You’d rather be alone.”
Jax didn’t like the sound of that, but she also wasn’t willing to say her sister was wrong. “I have to sit with this for a while. Let’s change the subject. What’s new with you?”
“I have a second interview and if they hire me, they want me to start in August.”
Jax stared at her sister, willing herself not to react. Every cell in her body screamed that Ryleigh wasn’t allowed to leave. That it was too horrible to think about, that it was wrong and selfish for her to go and...
And it was selfish to expect her to stay because Jax needed her and hated change and didn’t want to not have her best friend right there.
“You’re going to get the job,” she said quietly. “They’re not idiots. They’ll snap you up like a frog with a fly.”
“Ugh. Really?”
Jax managed a smile. “Not my best work, but you get the point. It’s our morning for weird analogies. Okay, so when’s the interview?”
“Next week.”
“Say they make an offer by next Friday, that gives you, what, four or five weeks to pull it all together? I can help with the packing and we can put your condo on the rental section ofPort Palmas Talks. It’s a great place, so you’ll get a tenant quickly. Unless you’re selling, which would be a complication but would give you money to buy something down—”
Ryleigh stood and walked around the table, then tugged Jax to her feet.
“Thank you,” she whispered as they hugged. “I know you don’t mean a word of it, but thank you.”
“I love you.”
“Love you more.”
Jax was grateful to escape the store later that afternoon to hang out with friends and family. She’d been struggling to pretend to be perfectly fine when her world was crashing in around her. Yes, she was so proud of herself for how she reacted to Ryleigh’s announcement of a second interview. She’d been supportive and strong and, as her sister had pointed out, she’d been lying about all of it, but so what? She’d done the right thing and she would keep doing it.
But Ryleigh was going to be leaving—a thought that depressed her and made her want to protest to whatever powers that be who refused to give her sister the perfect guy so she would stay where she belonged: right here in town!
Almost worse... okay not worse, but still bad, the person she found herself wanting to talk to was Marcus. She felt like he understood her dilemma and could cut right to the heart of it. He had a clarifying view and offered great advice, only shecouldn’t talk to him because apparently if she wasn’t in love with him this very second, he wasn’t interested and...
She sighed as she left the store and headed for the beach. Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly accurate. He hadn’t asked her to be in love with him, he’d asked if she could see herself in love with him in the future.
She crossed the street and made her way to the beach. The traffic was insane as people struggled to find parking. It was hot and sunny and the whole area was crowded. Music played, the smell of burgers and sunscreen filled the air. Everywhere she looked, groups of people were talking and laughing. Couples sat together. Families played and argued. Mothers chased toddlers and Dads threw Frisbees.
She told herself to enjoy the moment, to relax and have fun. And speaking of fun, this should have been her week to do the wild thing with Marcus, but that had totally blown up in her face.
