And then she’d have to decide whether to pull the trigger on a decision that would change her life forever.
Four days.
Four endless days and sleepless nights while he’d waited to hear from Diane after their Friday lunch.
And now another day of radio silence was drawing to a close.
Martin wandered over to the fridge in the high-end kitchen that felt cavernous now that he occupied his showplace house alone. Pulled open the door.
The leftover meatloaf from the Myrtle held zero appeal, he wasn’t in the mood to make an omelet, and he couldn’t stomach another frozen dinner.
He shut the door.
Maybe he should wander into town and see if Charley’s stand was open for business. Or go back to the mill, strike up some conversations with people on the second shift. That would be preferable to spending another evening by himself.
But it would also be foolish.
He gritted his teeth.
His bad habit of living at the office was what had gotten him into this mess. He wasn’t going to fall back into that pattern.
Instead, he’d go to Charley’s and hope the artist chef was in a cooking and talking mood.
He walked toward the door to the garage, pausing to pull out his phone when the email alert went off. Froze as he flicked a glance at the screen.
It was a message from Diane.
His heart began to pound.
An email had to be bad news. If she’d had good news, surely she’d have called.
Stomach clenching, he crossed to the kitchen island. Sank onto a stool. Stared at his cell for a full minute.
But putting off bad news wouldn’t make it go away. It was wiser to face reality at once and deal with it.
Not all of the lessons he’d learned from his father had been valuable, but that one had been spot-on.
With fumbling fingers, he opened the email and began to read.
Hi, Martin.
I’m emailing rather than calling because I wanted you to have a chance to think through what I have to say.
During our lunch on Friday, you told me you loved me, and I think you meant it. Those are words I’ve longed to hear for years—because I’ve always loved you too. That’s why walking away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I couldn’t see any future for us going forward if we continued down the same road. I hoped and prayed my leaving would have a constructive impact.
From everything I’ve observed, it has. I’ve heard it in your words and seen it in your actions. I’m grateful you and Lucas have reconnected and that you’ve made some positive changes in your life.
So I have a proposition to make.
What I’d like to do is come back to the house but stay in the guest room for now until we see how everything goes. I’m not ready to fully commit at this point. If things don’t work out, it will be easier to leave if we maintain some distance while we test the waters.
I realize this may not be what you were hoping for, but it’s the best I can offer. It will take longer than a month to overcome the memories of the past fourteen difficult years.
Please respond by email. If you want to proceed, we can work out the details and timing.
Martin sucked in a breath.
She was willing to give it another try.
