“I’m not going to Melbourne,” I say. “Whatever happened between Luke and me was wonderful while it lasted, but we were never serious.”
Mallory reaches for the tape recorder. “What about if—”
“No. This isn’t about him.”
“Then why did you ask for this meeting?”
Because I’ve lost my mind. Because I don’t know how else to make it right with the man who stood by me through everything.
I need to prove to Sawyer that I can stand up for myself. Not in a room swarming with unfamiliar faces, but quietly, in my own time, in my own way. God. More than that. I’m doing this formyself.
I take a deep breath. “Ismystory worth anything? My divorce… Ethan… Any of it?”
Mallory taps her fingernail on the wooden tabletop. “Well, you’re not on TV, and you don’t have a media presence. So, there’s no cover story in it. But an exclusive from the ex-wife of Ethan Whitehall is definitely worth something.” She sticks herhand into her bag and pulls out a checkbook. “I’ll confirm with my editor how much extra I can offer you—”
“I don’t want money.”
“Elsie, there are no extra points for being noble.”
“There’s nothing noble about this. This is one of the most selfish things I’ve ever done. I want to tell people the reason I’m here and, more importantly, that I’m staying.”
“I can help you do that.” She clicks the tape recorder on. “But you’re taking the money.”
I glance around theclinic waiting room.
The last week has been a blur of the same dramas on repeat. My cup of tea sits untouched, and I’ve only taken a tiny nibble out of the muffin a patient brought in for me. The treat is fluffy and smells like decadent chocolate heaven, but I’m not hungry. My stomach twists into so many knots.
What if Sawyernevercomes home?
It’s been almost two weeks since we last talked. I miss him. An ache gnaws in my chest every night when I walk past his place, and the driveway is still empty.
I drop my eyes to the university course guide open in front of me. The page for teaching qualifications hasn’t changed even after I read it for the sixth time. Another problem I can’t solve.
How can I make this work?
Even if Sawyer never comes back, leaving St Helens isn’t an option. Can I work at the clinic forever? Everyone is so nice, but…
My stomach knots tighter, and I slump forward over the reception desk to breathe through the sharp pain.
I wantmore.
I want a whole life—a career that excites me, a house to grow old in, and children. I long to spend days on the beach with friends. And I want Sawyer beside me for all of it. Do I deserve all that? Him? Probably not, but I want it all just the same.
I turn the page of the course guide. A magazine smacks on top of it. My head jerks up to find Kristen looming over the reception desk, her blue eyes slitted to a knife edge.
“Well?” she spits.
“Well…what?”
“This.”
She jabs a pink fingernail at the latest issue ofNow Weekly. I smirk. Mallory Something-or-Other was right. An on-set romance took the main cover spot, but there I am, in the corner, smiling in an old wedding photo torn down the middle.
Tech mogul’s ex-wife tells all.
Talk about dramatic.
I glance up at Kristen. “What about it?”
