Page 168
“I listen, feed you ice cream and pizza, agree that everything is horrible, and occasionally say something you might not want to hear.”
A watery laugh slips out of me.
“Goddammit, give me your advice then.” I groan.
“Okay.” Nadia sits up as if preparing for something very important. “I understand why what your dad said scared you. I really do. This could seriously affect his career. Maybe one day he could even look back and resent you for what being with you cost him.”
My throat tightens.
“But none of those things are guaranteed, Quinn.”
“No, but—”
“Just let me finish.”
Her voice is gentle, so I do.
“Your dad gave you a list of things that might happen. Wyatt might lose minutes. He might get traded. Another team might not want him. And years from now, he might resent you for a choice he made when he was twenty-four and in love.”
I look down at our hands.
“But he also might not.”
I don’t say anything.
“He might stay in LA. This whole thing might blow over in two weeks. He might get traded someday for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with you. And even if being with you does cost him something, maybe he never resents you for it. Maybe ten years from now, he still thinks choosing you was the best decision he ever made.”
My eyes burn.
“You don’t know that.”
“No, I don’t.” She squeezes my hand. “That’s my point. Neither do you.”
I swallow.
“You took every bad thing that could happen and treated it like it was definitely going to happen. And look at the chance you took instead.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“You exchanged the possibility of pain later for a guarantee of pain now. The only thing you made absolutely certain was that the two of you are miserable right now.”
My chest aches so badly I press my free hand against it. “I had to protect him. I couldn’t gamble with his career.”
“But you did gamble, Quinn. You just chose a different bet.”
I look at her.
“You bet that whatever Wyatt might lose by being with you would hurt him more than losing you.”
I stop breathing for a second.
Nadia can tell she’s given me a lot to think about, so she lets it sit there.
After a while, we decide to put on a movie and order pizza.
This might be one of the worst days of my life, but in a weird way, it’s also one of the best. Yes, I cry a little when Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks finally get their HEA. But we also cuddle up on the couch, laugh until our bellies hurt, and eat a dangerous amount of pizza.
***
