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“I’ll, um, see what I can do about getting tickets to leave tomorrow.” They’d be expensive, but the sooner I got out of here, the sooner his parents would be at a disadvantage, not knowing where we were.
“Josh has offered the use of his plane. It can be ready by this evening if you’d like,” Mark spoke up.
I released a breath. “That would be great.”
* * *
I barely saidthree words to Mark after leaving my attorney’s office and walking to our cars. Not because I was upset with him, but rather because I didn’t know how to get beyond this latest mortification. I’d never told anyone that Rob had insisted on a DNA test to prove Tristan was his. Now it was in the open. And this was after a visit from CPS calling into question my fitness as a mother.
Once we were on the private jet later that evening with Tristan about to return to Connecticut, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only a few weeks ago I had been filled with dread at leaving my home, but today I couldn’t wait to put it in my rearview mirror. At least for now.
“You okay?” Mark handed me a diet Coke and took the seat across from Tristan and me.
“It’s been a day, but I’m better now.”
He smiled kindly and took my hand. “It started out great but definitely went downhill from there.”
I returned the smile, enjoying the memory of how he’d woken me up this morning. “Thanks for being there today.”
“I hope you believe I wasn’t trying to cut you out of the meeting with Harvey. I was only trying to be helpful.”
“I do believe that. Time was of the essence, and you were giving me the option to avoid dealing with one more thing. But I needed to be part of it. Otherwise, I’d have felt helpless and inadequate in dealing with my own life.”
I hadn’t always made the best choices. For example, I’d stayed in my marriage for too long. So, participating in the meeting with my attorney was a way of gaining confidence about making good choices going forward.
“I understand. And I’m glad you showed up. I’m just sorry for the other.”
“Nothing for you to apologize for.”
“It’s not that kind of ‘I’m sorry.’ More like I wish there was more I could do. You don’t deserve this.”
For the first time, I was starting to believe the same. “No, I don’t. Neither does Tristan. But we’ll get through it.”
“I want to be there for you through this, too, Jules.”
“Why?” The question hung, heavier than the single syllable implied.
“Because, if you haven’t noticed, I’m absolutely crazy about you. You’re the second chance at happiness I didn’t ever think I’d get. I want to be yours.”
My heart beat double time with his words. I was absolutely head-over-heels for him, too, but I couldn’t keep from voicing the obvious. “I know you have lived in New Haven for years, but I love my job in Charlotte. Plus, my mom is there. Although Tristan and I are coming back up to Connecticut now, I don’t know for how long—”
He cut me off. “I like Charlotte. In fact, I wouldn’t mind living there.”
“Oh.”
He grinned. “Yeah. Oh. And if any of this is freaking you out, tell me, and I’ll dial it back a notch.”
I shook my head, grinning. “Nope. No notch take backs.”
* * *
It wasn’tuntil I lay in his arms later that night in my New Haven apartment that I realized Mark’s admission he’d be willing to relocate to Charlotte had left me with additional questions.
“What about your job if you moved?”
His fingertips skimmed down my arms. “I can work from anywhere. Funny enough, Josh is hoping to ask Haylee if she wants to move down there after she’s done with law school. If he relocates his office down to Charlotte, it will make it even easier for me to move.”
“Will you miss New Haven?” Obviously, he had a connection to this place, including his history with his fiancée.
