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When I glanced around the circle, everyone was in agreement.Jeez.“Careful,” I muttered into my glass. “This is beginning to feel like an intervention.”
“Good.” Bennett placed a hand on my back.
I nearly choked on my sip of wine. When I finally caught my breath, I realized they were serious.
“For the record,” Liam said. “I voted to call it an ‘intercession.’”
I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t think he was joking. None of them was. All their expressions were stern yet compassionate, their concern directed at me.Shit.
“So, what’s up with you and Ellie? Give us a recap sincesomeof us are a bit out of the loop,” Liam said, eyeing the others.
I dragged a hand down my face. “Do I have to?”
The answer was a resounding yes from all four of them.
I took a deep breath and then gave them a quick rundown. From the time Elle moved in, to sneaking around. How I’d fallen for her, only to let her go.
“She offered to stay?” Liam asked, his eyes lighting up. “Damn. This is romance novel gold.”
I half expected him to whip out his phone and start taking notes. But Bennett elbowed him in the side, and Liam adopted a contrite expression.
“What did you say when she offered to stay?” That was from Bennett.
I lifted a shoulder. “She wasn’t thinking clearly. The kids had just run away. Rex was missing. And neither of us wanted to say goodbye.”
Besides, I wasn’t willing to let her give up on her dreams. I knew how important the JET Program was to her, especially after she’d told me about her birth mom’s semester abroad in Japan. I couldn’t hold Elle back. I couldn’t keep her from that. And her request for space months ago had only reinforced that I’d made the right decision.
“Have you talked to her since?” Enzo asked.
I shook my head. “Once briefly.” And it had gutted me. “Otherwise, it’s just been a quick hello here or there, mostly so the kids can FaceTime with her.” But it wasn’t enough.
Even from our brief interactions, Elle seemed happier lately, lighter. The spark was back in her eyes. And I knew from a recent conversation with Savannah that they’d offered to renew her contract for another year.
“How much longer will she be there?” Asher asked.
I rubbed a hand over my face. “I don’t know.” And that was the problem. If I didn’t do something soon, I was afraid I’d lose her forever. “She could renew her contract for another year, maybe two.”Fuck.
“What?” Liam set down his glass, staring at me intently. “Fuck no. You can’t let that happen.”
“I know, but what am I supposed to do?” I started pacing, dragging a hand through my hair. “I can’t ask her to sacrifice her dreams for me. Our lives are just in different places.” My own words continued to haunt me.
“So you follow her like I did Harper,” Enzo said.
“You’re joking, right?” I scoffed. He made it sound so simple when my life was anything but. “I have two kids, two pets, a house. A company. My whole life is here.”
“Except Ellie,” Bennett said softly.
Right. Except that—my heart.
“How would I even do that?” I asked, thinking the idea had to be as fantastical as it seemed. “I can’t.”
Asher chuckled. “Tristan, you graduated from Stanford with honors. You developed the LoveBirds dating app for fun.”
I sliced a hand through the air. So what? That didn’t solve my current problem.
“If you can figure out how to do all the incredible things you have, from raising two children single-handedly after your wife died to starting and selling a company for millions, I have faith that you can figure this out too,” Liam said.
“That’s because, now that you’re in love with Penny, you refuse to accept anything less than a happily ever after.”
