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Bambi’s jaw drops open. “Oh my god. I knew you were fucking the potatoes! You dirty fucker. My grandparents ate that shepherd’s pie. You jackass!” she roars out.
Luke doesn’t glance back. He just hops in his car and wordlessly drives away, leaving tire marks on my street.
Still shaking with anger, Bambi turns to Harry and me. “Thank you for that. And I’m sorry for making a scene. I just…”
“I know,” I say softly. “I know the lengths that man probably went to to make you go insane.”
She nods slightly, dragging a fist over her watery eyes. “I should get out of here. I’ve already embarrassed myself enough.” She pats her flushed cheeks and does a little curtsy.
Oh god. Not the curtsy.
As Bambi is getting back in the car, she pauses and looks at me sheepishly. “I feel like I should admit this—I’ve been stalking your LinkedIn profile like crazy, Nadia. I’m super impressed with you and how much you’ve accomplished. Especially while dragging that dead weight around on your ankle.” She motions in the direction Luke just jetted off in.
My jaw unhinges. “You have?”
She nods, embarrassed.
“I’ve been stalking your Instagram,” I blurt out. “I think you’re way too pretty for that low life.”
“Oh, my gosh. Same. He’s so lucky to have scored you. Prettyandsmart. You’re the total package.” Her gaze drops to the ground. “Me, I’m sort of sick of only being recognized for what I look like on the outside. That’s why I was trying to get my fashion line off the ground. So I could have something of my own that wasn’t based on my physical appearance. But Luke went out of his way to belittle all my efforts and make me doubt myself.”
“I’m so sorry, Alabama.” I feel a pinch of hurt in my gut. “I’ve been exactly where you are. Luke is nothing but an insecure man.” I go and lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t let him kill your dreams, okay?”
“Got it.” Her bottom lip trembles. Her eyes fill up, and out of nowhere, she tosses her arms around me again. “I’m sorry. I don’t know if this is appropriate but, it’s good to talk to someone who understands.” Bambi reaches into her purse and stretches an adorable homemade business card to me. “Email me if you’re ever in New York?”
“Definitely,” I promise her.
With a wave and another curtsy, she sinks into the car and she’s gone.
Harry and I are left standing alone in my driveway. My heart does funny erratic things when our eyes lock. My beautiful husband.
His gaze slowly scans my face, his eyes holding more affection than I even deserve. “You and I have some stuff to figure out.”
A tremulous breath leaves me when I nod. “Yeah.”
I turn and open my front door. Harry grabs the grocery bags sitting on the porch. Then he follows me inside.
52
NADIA
My estranged groom’s dark eyes peer at me over the grocery bags sitting on my kitchen island. “So…you’re leaving? You’re just gonna put your house up for sale and leave? Like you left New York?”
The accusatory sound in his voice only serves to mask his brokenness. I can see the way his hands shake with nerves as he turns his ball cap backward on his head.
It makes me flinch and I’m glad to have the island as a barrier between us. “What?” I question defensively. “This is nothing like when I left New York.”
My husband stands firm in his conviction. “Please don’t lie to me. I know you’re planning to run away from Sin Valley. You quit your job, Nadia. And now, you’re selling your house.” His expression crumbles, anger giving way to defeat. He leans forward, gripping the edge of the counter. “Does that mean that you’re done loving me? Are you saying you don’t feel anything for me anymore?”
“You don’t understand…” My head wags left to right. “I quit my job because I can’t stand to be affiliated with the Paragons organization knowing how their decision upended your life. And my house, I’m selling it because…” I pull in a harsh breath that scrapes the bottom of my lungs. My eyes are burning with tears I can’t let myself shed. “Because I’m coming with you.”
“You’re…what?”
“Harry, the day you saw me at the restaurant with Liam, that’s what I was two minutes away from doing. Resigning. I kept choking on my words, though. But I knew I had to do it. Because I realized that I couldn’t have my jobandhave you. So I chose you. I chose us. I’m not selling my house so I can run away from you. I’m selling my house so I can follow you.”
“I’m getting traded to the other side of the country,” he reminds me, his brow furrowed with skepticism.
Momentarily, I pause for strength. “I will follow you to any corner of this country. To any corner of this earth. Just so I can be near you. And I don’t even care how desperate that sounds.” I’m so tired. Tired of fighting him. Tired of fighting myself. Tired of feelingeverything.
