“Well, I’ll throw a different perspective in the mix. I think it’s great that he wants you to go with him, that’s romantic and all. But he’s asking you to give up your identity for him. Has he answered for that?”
Bingo.
And she went on.
“When Gage bought the beach house down in LBI for us and expected us to spend a large amount of time there in the future, he had a plan in place for me. He planned for my business to be able to run there. I think the question you need to ask Chase is, what does he expect you to do with the rest ofyourlife? Just follow him around?”
Harper’s words brought out emotions I wasn’t expecting. The validation it gave me for how I was feeling brought tears to my eyes, and I couldn’t control them. They spilled down my cheeks, taking my breath.
“Maryellen.” Her voice was soft and filled with concern. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“No,” I said emphatically. “You hit the nail on the head, Harper. It’s just…” And I didn’t want to finish my thought.
“It’s just that you’re not sure if he thought that far ahead. That he might only be thinking about himself.” Harper got it. She completely got it.
“Yes.”
“Well, the only way you’ll know is by asking him. You guys need to talk more about it,” she said.
I knew that.
Thankfully Chase knew that as well.
After hanging up with Harper, I sat in bed for a while. This was not going to be an easy conversation, but it was one we had to have. Once I’d gathered enough courage to face him, I threw the covers off and started the trek to his studio.
It was a hike. On a different floor. I’d gotten lost looking for it in the past, but I was growing more familiar with the other floors of his penthouse each time I stayed.
There was no sound coming through the door, which was by design, of course.
“Chase?” I knocked as I opened the door and peeked inside.
He was sitting on a leather chair in front of a desk, guitar in hand. His headphones prevented him from hearing me, so I watched him work for a minute. He would strum a few chords, then grab his pencil and write something in his notebook. Then back to his guitar, putting more and more chords together.
He was amazing to watch.
I leaned against the wall to admire him work and he must have seen the movement because he stopped and pulled off his headphones.
“Hey, you,” he said softly. He took off his guitar and placed the wooden beauty on a stand in the corner of the room. “Everything good?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Am I interrupting?”
“Nope, my time is for you right now.” He moved toward me and turned off the light inside the studio as he guided me to the hall. “Where to?”
As I shrugged with indifference, he gripped my hand and pulled me down the hall. We headed downstairs.
I think that was probably better than the bedroom.
“Let’s sit at the island,” Chase said. “Can I get you anything?” He opened a cabinet and took out two glasses, filling them with water.
I sat at the island, and he joined me. After draining the entire glass of water, I stared at him directly in the eye.
“OK,” I said. “Talking to my friends helped me articulate something I couldn’t on my own.”
Talking to them made me realize I had found my people. They were instrumental in helping me organize my thoughts that had been scattered in my head for years.
Chase was waiting to hear my next words.
“I’m so happy for you, you have to know that.”
