Page 118 of Merging Wright

Shock overcomes me.

Wrightwood.

Move here. Work here. Live here.

It isn’t possible.

This is the last place I want Jane to be without me.

And I need a new plan minus contingencies.

With her back still to me, I curl toward her and wrap my arm around her waist.

Jane stiffens. “You don’t need to do this here, Mach. We don’t need to pretend anymore.”

Squeezing her tighter to me, I mutter into her hair. “Who says I’m pretending?”

54

Playlist: “Landslide” – The Chicks version

[Jane]

A heated body presses to mine. After Mach questioned me last night, he remained in the room. Eventually, he rolled away from me, but sometime during the night, his foot sought my ankle. Then his hand rested against my back. He returned to his original position, his front along my spine and his arm draped over me. I hardly slept a wink.

The ache in my heart was deep.

I couldn’t believe I’d pulled it off—that I’d found the strength to brush off our marriage, citing his disbelief in romance as a reason. I refused to believe romance didn’t exist. Just that love wasn’t something available to me. I’d been duped once again into thinking a working relationship—one with actual business as its beginning—could be anything other than a contract of sorts. One with empty promises and no future.

This time around, I was angry. Angry at how much Mach had hurt me. Angry that I was hurt by him when I promised myself I wouldn’t be in this position again. As Lindee said, I wouldn’t ever let someone take advantage of me. And I had. Down the rabbit hole I fell because it was Mach.

Unlike Alice in Wonderland, I needed to save myself in Wrightwood.

Mach had been upfront from the start. He’d told me he didn’t believe in romantic marriage. He told me he wanted to capitalize on our status with sex. What he didn’t profess was committed love and unending devotion.

I’m the fool who wanted those things.

He’d made it clear I wasn’t worth the risk to his heart.

The lost partnership was a wake-up call. I hadn’t wanted it by way of coercion, anyway. I deserved a promotion based on hard work, dedication, and ethics. I’d momentarily forgotten I could apply those attributes to myself. I could use those skills to better me.

Removing myself from Mach’s warmth, I slip from the bed and quickly dress.

Once downstairs, Camilla greets me with a hug. “Good morning, dove.”

November seemed to pass with a blink, and I’ve missed her over the weeks. I treasure the comfort of her embrace. While I love my own mother, I wish she were half as supportive as Camilla. My mother couldn’t understand the drive to provide for myself, work in a fast-paced industry, or live in a large city. She blamed me for losing Ripley, yet she also had an extreme distrust of men. The hypocrisy wasn’t lost on me.

Eventually, Camilla’s embrace is too much, and I gently shrug out of her hold before I break again. No more tears, Jane Wright.

“I’m going into town. I’ll grab tea at On The Curve. I have so much work to do.” The false cheer in my voice is the pep talk I need. I can do this. I can be in Camilla’s house, with Mach present, for a few more weeks. Then he’ll go back to Chicago, and I can start a new journey in life.

Camilla frowns at me.

“I’d like to push to make Myles’s deadline.” Maybe Landon Hobbs can give us some grace. The fire wasn’t our fault. In fact, I need to speak with the fire inspector or the fire chief. I need to know what happened. I didn’t ask Mach because I’m trying to keep our communication minimal.

Camilla tilts her head. “Do you really think this is about money for either of my boys?”

I was no longer certain of anything other than what I wanted for myself. What I believed I deserved. A home. A job that brought me fulfillment. Maybe a marriage one day, based on love.