AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m going to go for a walk,” I said.
“Perfect.” Travis opened the next crate and an oversized, gray cat hopped out. “I’ll grab Mr. Meatball’s harness. He’s probably dying to get some fresh air.”
“I was thinking of walking by myself,” I said.
“Oh.” Travis was already holding a black leash and harness with little chrome spikes all over it.
I nearly gave in and let him come, but I needed to clear my head. “Sorry,” I said, heading for the door. “I just need a few minutes to think.”
Travis nodded and didn’t fight me on it, which only made my guilt worse.
I took the elevator, headed outside, and hopped across the road to check out Central Park. I pulled my coat tighter and started walking in no particular direction.
Just the other night, it felt like I was finally starting to find a mental place I was happy with. Yes, I’d slept with Travis. Yes, it was insane and wonderful. Yes, I liked it. Little by little, I was taking all the positive signs and letting them push me to accept the idea of a relationship. But Mrs. Glass shoving us together like she had seemed to make my brain short circuit.
I thought I understood the dynamics at play. When Travis joined on at Glass Designs, I thought the ultimate decision was simple. I’d have to choose between my career and Travis, and that meant we were never going to work out. Except Mrs. Glass decided to throw a wrench in everything with her meddling. What the hell was she even thinking?
It had to be a test like I’d told Travis. This was her way of shoving me aside for Rand. She could feel good about herself for setting me up for my white picket fence future. Seeing me choose “Barry Boulders” over my career would be all the confirmation she needed that she’d made the right choice.
I hesitated with my finger over Mother’s name in my contact list. Mother was not someone you called for advice, especially not when it came to personal matters. Then again, I guess I didn’t actually know that. I’d had such a nonexistent personal life that I’d never really tried to get her opinion on anything but work-related topics.
I had to walk in a few nervous circles before I finally tapped her name and waited for her to pick up.
“What is it?” Her voice, as always, came clipped and hard. I could already feel the pressure pushing down on me when I thought about admitting how I felt.
“Mom, er, mother,” I took a deep breath and pressed my fingertips to the base of my neck. My pulse was absolutely racing. “I wanted to get your advice on something, if you have time.”
“Is this about Travis?”
“No. Yes. Kind of.”
Her next words came muffled like she wasn’t speaking directly into the phone. “Judy, cancel my noon with Wallace.”
“You don’t have to cancel anything, I can call back another—”
“No. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I just… I know I’m supposed to be a boss. I’m supposed to be in control and not let things come before work. I’m supposed to feel confident and sure about everything. But now I don’t know how to feel. It’s like…” I made a frustrated sound and lifted my arm, even though she couldn’t see. “Like I need to force myself to care about the things I cared about just a few weeks ago.”
“Elizabeth, I’ve pushed you hard your whole life. I won’t apologize for that because it has shaped you into the woman you are. But I do apologize for never telling you it was okay to be a woman—to fall for a man and to fall hard. You’re not losing your mind, Elizabeth. You’re just falling for someone, and that has a way of changing your priorities.”
This side of her I’d seen since Travis appeared in my life was entirely new. I was still having trouble accepting I was speaking to the same woman who had been so cold and unavailable my whole life.
I chewed my lip. I wanted to disagree with her or tell her she was wrong, but sooner or later, I needed to accept what was staring me in the face. What was the point in constantly running from it? And just because my boss was suddenly playing matchmaker and my usually ice-cold mother was acting like a different person; it didn’t mean I had to get skittish.
I could do this. I could relax and let things play out naturally, couldn’t I? Maybe I didn’t have to choose yet. Or maybe the decision to choose my career over Travis wasn’t as blindingly obvious as I’d first imagined it would be. Maybe—
“Found you!” Travis said, laughing.
I looked over my shoulder and saw Travis with his bearded dragon and large, fluffy cat on leashes with body harnesses. He was coming down the path towards me while absolutely beaming. Everybody within view was staring at him, and it was a testament to his looks that I wasn’t even sure if it was because of his pets.
