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“I’ll be back in the States in a few weeks,” he promises.
“And then?” I challenge.
“And then we’ll see.”
“Not good enough, Aiden. Tell me now. What happens then? Huh?”
“After that, I’ll have to travel more.”
“Exactly.”
“It’s my job.”
“EXACTLY!” My free hand drops into the bath, splashing water onto the phone screen.
When I finally look back at Aiden, his face is a mask of frustration. Furrowed brows. Locked jaw. Sharp cheekbones. “What about you moving to New York? Have you even considered it?”
“Why would I move to New York? You’re not even in New York!”
He inhales a deep breath like he’s utterly exasperated with me. Then he responds, “Right. Okay. It’s clearly not a good time to talk about this…”
I’m boiling over with anger, and it doesn’t help that he wants to shut this down. He thinks I’m not in my right mind, thinks I need to calm down.
“You’re right. Let’s talk about it another time.” My tone is filled with sarcasm. “What about tomorrow at 2 AM your time? Or how about we schedule five minutes to talk a week from Tuesday?”
“You think this is easy for me?!” he explodes.
“It sure seems like it!”
“I’m in a fucking hotel room a thousand hours away from you! I’m working twelve-hour days! I’m fucking trying, Maddie!”
“Exactly! We’ve both been trying and it feels impossible. There’s no end in sight. What’s the plan, Aiden? Are we going to stay long distance forever?”
“I don’t know.”
I realize I’m getting dangerously close to backing him into a corner. I would never want to force Aiden to pick between me and his job. I know how much working for the Times means to him, but what am I supposed to do here? I’ve been waiting to be with Aiden for years, and it still doesn’t even feel like we’re really together. We had a week in Vail and now what? Phone calls? Text messages?
“It feels like we can have this conversation now or a year from now, but—”
He cuts me off. “No.”
“It’s only going to get harder.”
“You’re giving up.”
“I’m being realistic!”
“Who cares about being realistic? I love you, Maddie. That matters. In fact, that’s the only thing that matters.”
“It’s not enou—”
“Do you love me too, Maddie?”
“Does it matter?”
“Do you love me?”
“Of course, Aiden!”
“Then give me more time to figure this out.”Chapter Twenty-TwoMaddie“A toast for the birthday queen!” Blythe says, instructing us all to lift our glasses around the table.
“Mia, may every day of your twenty-eighth year be as drunk as this one!” Blythe shouts over the noise of the crowd.
We laugh and clink our glasses together, wishing Mia a happy birthday.
The bar we’re at, Easy Tiger, is ridiculously packed. Even in February, the outdoor patio is filled to the brim with guests lingering awkwardly on the fringes, surveying picnic tables and waiting for one to open up. Twinkle lights dip low over our heads as we go around our table sharing funny memories about Mia.
It feels good to be out with my friends. We haven’t had a night like this since before I left for Vail. I’ve been hard to reach and harder to pin down, but I knew I’d regret missing Mia’s birthday. So, even though I wasn’t really feeling up for partying, I forced myself to get ready and come out with them.
I’m glad I did. Doing my hair and makeup has improved my mood. My white sweater dress and boots were both Christmas gifts from Jolie, and they fit like a glove. I feel good tonight, almost like my old self. A good part of that has to do with the fact that I turned my phone off. It’s still in my purse in case of emergencies, but I didn’t want to bother with anyone or anything tonight.
“Don’t look, but there is a seriously hot group of guys that just walked outside,” Lucy says, eyeing them over the top of her glass. “I think they’re heading to the table behind ours.”
“What does it matter?” Mia laughs.
Mia and Blythe definitely don’t care about a group of guys, Lucy has a serious boyfriend, and I have…whatever I have.
Lucy laughs and smacks her forehead gently. “Oh right. I keep forgetting Maddie is off the market.”
I glance down at my drink.
“To be fair, it’s probably because I haven’t met him. He is real, right?” she teases.
Mia laughs. “Yes, he’s real. Though it’s so weird to think you guys are finally dating. How are things going, anyway?”
“Oh, fine.”
“Try not to sound too excited.” Blythe laughs.
I try to shake off my foul mood. “Sorry. It’s just been a long week.”
“Where is he again?”
“Right now? Dubai.”
“Dang that’s cool,” Mia says with an appreciative nod.
I shrug as the group of guys rounds our table. I glance up and lock eyes with one of them. He smiles and shoots me a little nod, and I do the same, feeling like it’d be rude not to.
