“He’s too mired in his martyrdom to listen to reason. And, well, I think it needs to come from you.” Ethan sighed. “Mama, that man loves you. It still weirds me the fuck out, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you. And knowing he’s agonizing over taking this job the way he is, because he loves you too much to even ask you to give up the life you have in Georgia, well, it tells me everything I need to know about his feelings for you.”
“I can’t just leave, Ethan. I have a job and I’d have to sell the house and… It’s just not that simple.”
“You hate your job and from what my realtor friends tell me, it’s a seller’s market.”
“But you grew up in that house. You love that house.”
“I do and I’ll be sad to see it go. But I’d be even sadder knowing I ruined my mother’s shot at true love over a damn house. Do you really think I’m that selfish, Mama?”
“No, of course not.” Mind racing, she went through the mental list she’d created of all the reasons she couldn’t go to California. “But your grandparents are here. I can’t just leave them.”
“Please. Nana and Pops spend as much time traveling as they do at home anyway, and they’re still young and spry. You really think they’d want you to stay for them?”
The truth of his words settled deep in her bones. “No. No, I guess not.”
“Mama.” Ethan’s tone gentled. “Sooner or later you’re going to run out of excuses and you’re going to have to face the real reason you’re trying so hard to stay in Georgia.”
“And what’s that, oh wise one?”
“You’re scared. You love Dylan, and the last time you loved a man, he ripped you into little tiny pieces you never thought you’d put back together. But you did, because you’re a hell of a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. I don’t know if this thing between you and Dylan is going to last forever, but Idoknow that you’re going to regret it every fucking day of your life if you don’t at least give it a chance.”
Silence fell between them, stretching out for several long, strained minutes before Ethan cleared his throat. “My lunch break is almost over, so I gotta go. Just promise me you’ll think about it, and you won’t let that fear hold you back. I love you, and I want you to be happy. Dylan makes you happy.”
“I love you too, baby.”
“Bye, Mama.”
The call ended, leaving her alone with her jumbled thoughts. Every argument she’d had for staying, Ethan had systematically dismantled.
Dylan was going to take the job. Odds were, he’d gotten off his call with Ethan and called them to accept and he was, at that very moment, agonizing over how to tell her. But he was only going through with it becauseshe’dinsisted.
If she’d asked, he would have turned them down in a heartbeat. And he would have made the best of their life here in Georgia. He probably even would have been happy, because being with her made him happy. A single word from her, and he would have turned his entire life upside-down to give her the life she wanted.
How could she possibly do anything less for him?
Pushing away from her desk, she grabbed her purse and shoved her laptop into her computer bag. She stopped in the doorway to her boss’s office, excitement skittering up and down her spine when he raised startled eyes to hers.
“Samantha. Is there something I can help you with?”
“As a matter of fact there is.” Adrenaline fueled by fear and excitement pumped through her veins, making her feel a hell of a lot braver than usual. “I have some things to say to you, Chase.”
Leaning back in his chair, Chase raised his brows, his expression bordering on amusement. “Then say them.”
“You’re a shitty fucking boss.” Shock had his mouth falling open, but now that the dam had been broken, there was no stopping the flood of words from her mouth. “You have wildly unreasonable expectations for your employees, you talk to us like we’re children, and you never bother to tell us when we’re doing a good job. You take credit for the workwedo, and throw us under the bus when you fuck up. You are everything that’s wrong with Corporate America, and I wish I could be here for the day karma finally catches up with you.”
Pausing, she let her lips curve in a razor-sharp smile. “But I won’t be. Because I fucking quit.”
Without bothering to wait for a response, she turned on her heel and marched straight out of the office.
And into her new life.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dylan
He put off leaving work as long as he could, and as a result, Sam’s car was already in the driveway when he got home.
God, this sucked. In a month he’d be walking away from her, perhaps forever, and already his heart was shattering at the thought of never seeing her again, never hearing her laugh, never watching the way her bottom turned that lovely shade of pink under his hand when she’d been naughty.
