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My voice was small. I didn’t know what to say. All I wanted was to leave this coffee shop, have him take me in his arms. I hadn’t handled this well, I realized that now. If the situation was reversed, and he told me he’d just signed off on a project on the other side of the country, I’d be pissed, but I was already so on edge, so exhausted from all the battering that I couldn’t think straight.
“You don’t want me to go,” I stated, as it finally dawned on me.
“I can’t tell you what to do. I’m not sure you care, anyway.”
“Reid, of course I care. Don’t be absurd. It’s just for a few months. I can travel here every second weekend....” My voice faded as a frown creased his forehead. “And... you could come on the other weekends. If... you want to.”
Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure of what he wanted anymore.
“You’ve got everything planned out,” he muttered. “What if it lasts longer?”
“Then we’ll figure it out.”
“We? Are you sure?”
Pain throbbed through my right temple. I pressed two fingers there, drawing in a deep breath.
“Reid... I don’t know what you want me to tell you. This isn’t an easy situation, but we can figure it out.”
“I can’t just hang in here and hope for the best, not knowing what will happen, what you’ll decide.”
Here he went again with that. What I’ll decide.
“Look, I understand that not talking this through with you was....” My voice faded as his words registered. My throat was dry. “What do you mean, you can’t?”
He said nothing, just shook his head, and I felt every muscle in my body clench tight.
“So, let me get this straight, if things don’t happen on your terms exactly, you just give up?”
“I love you, Hailey. You know I do.”
“But not enough, apparently.” I blinked fast, trying to ignore the burning in my eyes.
“Don’t turn this on me,” he said. “You’re the one who just decided to move away without even talking to me about it.”
My shoulders slumped. The inside of my chest suddenly was heavy. The fear was choking me. God, the fear that all this happiness would just be taken away from me, and I’d be left with nothing. I bit the inside of my cheek. Do not cry.
I tried to put myself in Reid’s shoes. I
knew who he was. That he liked to know what would happen ten steps ahead before he decided on something. I knew that his schedule was planned to the second, that traveling wasn’t his thing, that he’d been hurt before, and yet... all I was asking for was support for a few months, and he couldn’t even find it in himself to give me that?
Sure, Houston wasn’t exactly close. Seeing each other wouldn’t be a walk in the park. But damn it, wasn’t I worth any effort at all?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hailey
“I’ve added fifteen more prospects to our list,” I told Annalise. My temporary boss nodded at me in relief.
“You’re a godsend, Hailey. Thanks! It’s late. Why don’t we call it a day?”
“Sure, boss. See you tomorrow.”
I wasn’t particularly looking forward to leaving the office. It wasn’t anything to brag about—just a small venue in downtown Houston where I, Annalise, and two other employees made cold sales calls to potential prospects and handled the few clients we had.
But going back to my rented apartment just reminded me of how empty my life was right now. I felt empty.
During the day, I pulled myself together, but when I was alone, I couldn’t pretend I was okay. I was as far from okay as I’d ever been. I was miserable—away from my family, with a job that bored me to tears... and a broken heart.
