Jesse nodded. “Is there anything else?”
“That’s it.”
He didn’t answer. He simply stood without a word and walked out the door.
Eliana watched him move down the path, away from their family home, and she felt nothing but overwhelming relief. She pulled the rings from her fourth finger and felt, with them, the weight of his secrets, his lies, his endless expectations fall from her shoulders. And Eliana smiled.
33
GETTING STARTED
Milo
Eliana
I’m going to be in Richard’s office for a while in the morning, but could we meet for lunch after to talk?
Milo
Of course. The diner?
Eliana
That works. 11?
Milo
I’ll be there.
Milo checked the time on his phone, ten till eleven, and then resumed his pacing outside the lawyer’s office. He’d pushed too fucking hard the day before. He knew she only asked to meet so that she could quit, and he couldn’t fault her for it. He’d spent most of the night prior and all of that morningthinking through the options. Making a list of potential employers from his network that could offer a similar, or better, role for Eliana.
Anger gripped him for a moment, and he paused in place, furious with himself over his reaction. He was supposed to be patient and supportive. Not take a bad situation and blow it completely out of proportion, essentially laying an ultimatum at her feet.
Milo grunted, turning away from the office to continue his pacing. He rolled his shoulders when the tag scratched at him. He hated this damn shirt. But Eliana had told him it went well with his eyes once, and he’d take any possible advantage he could get that morning.
He was wondering if maybe the appointment was canceled, or moved, once eleven rolled around and Eliana didn’t appear—but then the door opened, and Jesse walked out. Both sides of his face were bruised, making Milo’s brows rise. Who got the other side?
Jesse’s footsteps faltered for a moment when he caught sight of Milo, but then he hurried up the sidewalk, not bothering to look back.
A few moments later, Eliana emerged. She was wearing a simple, nondescript pair of blue jeans and a faded black hoodie. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, and he didn’t think she had a stitch of makeup on, but the pale sun shone bright upon her face, and the soft smile that turned her lips when she spotted him made him feel like maybe things weren’t quite as bad as he’d imagined. How could they be when she was looking at him likethat?
“You didn’t have to meet me here. It’s just a block away.”
Milo shrugged. “It was no issue. It’s just a block away.”
“Touché.” Eliana laughed.
The silence that fell between them as they walked, normally comfortable, felt loud, almost tangible . . . and it grew until Milo simply couldn’t take it any longer.
“I’m sorry,” Milo blurted, the words exploding in an avalanche of word vomit. “I never should have pushed you like that yesterday. You had so much to deal with, and I was supposed to be there to support you. I was supposed to be yourfriend,and I just went and blew up and made a huge scene like the worst kind of dick.”
“Milo–”
“And then unloading all of my feelings on you, that was completely uncalled for. I know I probably scared the hell out of you, which is totally fair. But you can just forget I said anything if you want. I knew it wasn’t the right time. I had this whole plan for New Year’s, but–” He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter.”
“Milo–”
“But I want to make sure you know that I am so proud of you, Eliana. I know I didn’t show it well yesterday, but you’ve taken some huge steps, and it wasn’t right of me to tell you how you should handle things. And I’m sure that when you do tell him–”
