“Same, but you’ll be back soon. You know you’re going to have to come with me to these soccer games, right? I don’t think I’ll be able to bear them otherwise.”
“You’ll get to watch Steven running around in little shorts. I think you’ll be okay.”
His eyes narrowed, and he pointed at me through the screen. “What’s that face about? Why do you sound like that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t sound like anything.”
“You do. You sound…resigned.”
“I’m sad, all right? I want to see you and keep you company at Steven’s soccer games, but I’m kind of in love with Cormac Kelly.”
His jaw dropped for a split second before he started muttering curses and tugging at his hair. “I knew it. I knew this would happen. Of course you’re in love with Cormac Kelly. No one could believe it when you came home from college with a boyfriend who wasn’t Cormac.Jackson.” He scoffed bitterly. “But I was sure that ship had sailed. I mean, you married a whole other man.”
“Can we not talk about that?”
He stopped and stared right at me. “Does he love you back?”
I nodded. “Oh yeah. Big time.”
“Fuck. This is a disaster.”
Then I told him the thing I’d been trying really hard not to think about since my conversation with Javier last week.
“My boss is planning on moving on to a new job in September. He wants me to replace him.”
Zane’s head fell back with a loud groan. “I knew you weren’t going to come back. Itoldyou.”
“I haven’t accepted.” I nibbled on my bottom lip until Zane focused on the screen again. “I have an interview at your hospital tomorrow morning.”
He rolled his eyes. “Why bother? You love guiding. You love that godforsaken state and you finally pulled your head out of your ass and fell in love with the man who was always meant for you.”
“I haven’t decided anything, that’s why. Cormac and I are so new. I do love him, more than I thought possible, but what if we move too fast and screw it all up? It would be smart to get ajob in Portland and see where things stand then. We’ve already agreed we’ll do long distance when the summer’s over.”
“Sure. I’m all for that plan.” He nodded a few times. “You come back here, live with Steven and me until we get sick of each other, then move into the house next door.”
“You’ve got my future all planned out.” Elbow on the arm of the chair, I rested my cheek on my fist. “Is the house even available?”
“Not at the moment, but I have my ways.”
I burst out laughing. “You sound so much like Dad.”
“He knows how to get things done.”
“He does.” I tipped my head back, peering up at the stars. There were a million pinpricks of light in the dark, inky blanket of the sky. “It’s right, isn’t it? Doing the interview?”
He let out a long sigh before answering. “I don’t know, Z. I’d be happy as a clam to have you back here, and I think you could build a happy life this time around. If I had my way, that’s what you’d do. But…I have to wonder, do you evenlikeaccounting?”
“Of course. I worked really hard to get my degree and certification.”
His brows shot up. “That isn’t much of an answer.”
“It’s the answer I have. Do I have to love my job? I don’t think most people do, and it’s not like I can just throw away all the work I’ve done to get here. That’s years I’ll never get back.”
“Mmmhmm. And I’m sure on your deathbed, you’ll be thinking how glad you are to have spent your life making spreadsheets.”
I tore my gaze from the sky, focusing on the screen. “I thought you wanted me to come home.”
“I definitely do. I just question your future plans once you get here. I wish you’d think about what you really want to do and not get stuck in a sunk-cost fallacy.”
