Senior analyst. My own team. VP track. Everything I spent five years building.
But all I can see is Eli's face this morning. The careful distance. The resignation in his eyes when he said "We're fine."
We're not fine.
And I can't keep pretending we are.
I can't keep avoiding this conversation just because I don't have the right answer yet.
I grab my keys and head out.
The drive to his cabin is short. Too short.
My hands shake on the wheel. I don't know what I'm going to say when he opens the door. Don't know if I have an answer yet.
But I can't keep running from this.
Can't keep letting him think I've already decided to leave.
His truck is there when I pull up. Lights on inside.
I sit for a long moment, engine ticking as it cools, trying to find the words.
I don't have them.
But I get out anyway.
And knock.
Chapter thirty-three
Hazel
The door opens.
Eli's there, filling the frame, and for a second we just look at each other.
"Hey," he says.
"Hey." My voice comes out steadier than I expected.
He steps back to let me in, and I walk past him into the cabin. The smell hits me immediately—coffee and sawdust and something warm I can't name. Home-adjacent.
He closes the door behind us, and the click of the latch feels final.
I turn to facehim. "Can we talk?"
Something shifts in his expression. Not surprise. More like resignation. Like he already knows this conversation isn't going to be easy.
"Yeah," he says. "Of course."
He leans against the counter, arms crossed loosely, waiting.
And I realize I still don't know how to say this.
"I got a call from work," I start. "About a job offer."
His expression doesn't change. No flinch. No tightening. Just attention.
