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“Um, text me when you land, okay? So I know you made it.”
I nod.
It’s a sweet sentiment, and it also freaks me out. Because there’s more than obligation in her question. There’s a sincerity that’s meaningful and noticeable. Mainly because it’s been glaringly absent in my life up until now.
If I died in a plane crash, my dad’s only concern would be how it would impact the company. Crew would view it as more than a corporate loss, but I know he would move on too. His daily life wouldn’t look all that different without me in it.
It’s a relief to know I’m not the only one caught up in this craziness between us.
But mostly?
I’m worried. I don’t want to know that this matters to her. ThatImatter to her.
Maybe I don’t. Maybe I’m just projecting my own feelings, getting caught up in the hot sex and how her family welcomed me.
And since this has already become messy and confusing, I don’t resist the urge to kiss her one final time. It’s gentle and sweet, the total opposite of how I was just touching her.
“Bye, Hannah.”
“Bye, Oliver.”
I don’t look at her as I grab the handle of my suitcase and walk out the door, knowing this will probably be the last time we’re in the same room.
From here until we’re divorced, all of our communication should go through our attorneys. It will be simplest, fastest, andsafest.
The driver is waiting on the sidewalk just past Hannah’s front yard. I apologize for the delay and climb into the backseat. The air conditioning is on, countering the rays of warm sunshine coming through the windows.
“Did you have a good trip, sir?” the driver asks, as we pull away from the curb.
“Yes, thanks,” I reply.
But good isn’t the right adjective.
I don’t know how to summarize my trip to California.
I don’t know why I decided to come to begin with, and now I’m even more confused about this entire visit.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
HANNAH
The conference room is full when I wedge my way inside. Garner Sports Agency employs about two thousand people. A hundred of them work out of this office, and they’re all present for our monthly update meeting.
An open seat is waiting for me at the center table. The first few meetings I ignored it, knowing the reserved chair was because of my last name, not my place in the company. But the times I haven’t taken the seat, it’s just sat empty. So I’ve accepted it, just like every other part of my role here.
Seconds after I’ve sat down, the chair beside me moves. I glance up into Tyler Sullivan’s blinding smile. He’s a few years older than me, a former athlete and forever sports buff who considers being an agent his calling. He’s excellent at his job too, representing several of the agency’s best-known athletes. Including Declan, which has always contributed an awkward element between us. Well that, and the fact he’s asked me out a few times. Each time, I’ve told him I don’t date coworkers.
“Hey, Hannah.”
“Hi, Tyler.”
“Happy Friday.”
“Yeah, you too.”
He leans back in his chair, spinning a pen around one finger. “Any exciting plans?”
“Not really.” I have a meeting with my divorce attorney to discuss the upcoming process. And Rachel has been bugging me to join her book club, which meets tonight, but I doubt I will. I’ve been in a funk ever since Oliver left. In about thirty-six hours, he managed to leave a permanent mark on my life. My car, my house, my family, they’re all associated with memories of him now.
