AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I lift Emily and pace the patio.
“You want to have kids?” my sister asks.
I bite my lip. “Maybe. At the right time and with the right person.”
“But not Clay.” She latches on with the precision of a surgeon.
I look over my shoulder at Mari, adjusting the baby in my arms. “Enough with the hard questions.”
He and I haven’t talked except for a couple of texts since I left.
I said I needed a break, and he’s been observing it perfectly.
Too perfectly.
Mari snorts. “Does he understand how lucky he is? For every talented player who busts their ass, there are a dozen just as good who don’t make it. Who never get to play in the championship finals. Harlan would kill for what Clay has. He enjoys being a GM, but he misses being a player. It’s the consolation prize.”
“Clay can’t see the lucky part right now.”
She shrugs. “He’s a selfish man, and guys like that don’t change. Don’t hate me.” She lifts both hands. “I’m saying it as someone in your corner. You wouldn’t have come back if things hadn’t fallen apart between you in LA.”
“They didn’t fall apart,” I correct, though I’m not entirely sure what I’m correcting. “We both needed space.”
“For how long?”
Until I recognize the man I fell in love with.
Until I know what I should do next.
On some level, I wish he’d rush to my side and say that I was right and he knows what he wants and we can be happy. Because when he wants something, he won’t let it go.
He didn’t agree to the break, but he didn’t try to stop me either.
I might be more relaxed, but dammit, I’m still left wondering what’s going on in his head.
I’m just doing it from a distance rather than up close.
“Stay as long as you want,” Mari continues when I don’t answer. “We love having you around.”
Before I left LA, there were times when it felt like living with a stranger.
Only it hurt more because the stranger was someone I loved.
But I couldn’t make him happy, no matter how I tried.
Here, I’m needed. I’m important. I matter.
Mari’s invitation feels good, but at the same time, I can’t hide out here forever.
Can I?
I have to work on the portraits I promised Annie Jamieson’s studio. Still, I could start on that here.
“I need my painting stuff from LA. I could go get it. Or ask Clay to send it.”
“Get someone else to send it for you. Then you don’t have to deal with whatever mood he’s in.”
I bite my lip. I do feel better since I came here. More relaxed, more grounded.
