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“Disappointed?”
“No. Sad. Go back inside. I’m going to call Thea and see if I can stay at her place tonight.”
“You don’t have to—”
She cut me off with a slight shake of her head. “I do. I need to think, and we need to keep up appearances.”
“We could go back home and talk—just the two of us. We can hash this out. Hell, you can call Payton.”
“No. Absolutely not.” Nora shook her head. “I just need some time.”
Unfortunately, time wasn’t something I had in excess. The gym in Manchester opened in less than a week, and I had a million things to do to prepare.
Nora seemed to know that too. She sighed heavily. “Why don’t you just stay in Manchester this week?”
My pulse quickened at the thought of a week before we could resolve this. “You don’t want that. I don’t want that.”
“I don’t know what I want, Andy,” she snapped, voice rising sharply before dropping again. “I thought we wanted the same things.”
“We do,” I stammered. “I do.”
Her gaze stayed stony, body rigid. Unmoved.
“Okay. I’ll book a hotel in Manchester for the week, if that’s what you want,” I said slowly, hoping she’d ask me to stay. She didn’t. “Can I call at least? Check on you?”
For an agonizingly long moment, she considered the offer, and I began to worry she would say no. My mind spiraled. What if she moved out of my house before I came back? What if she walked out of my life forever?
“Of course.” Her eyes shimmered as they raised skyward. “Now, go inside before they start asking questions. I’ll be right in.”
CHAPTER29
Nora
Andy’s babyblue eyes searched mine before he sighed and turned to walk back to Len’s. I fought tears as I pulled out my phone, fingers shaking while I searched for Thea’s number.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Can I stay at your place tonight?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“Of course, you can. Do you need me to pick you up?”
“No. No, don’t do that. I’ve got my car, and I’ve got to get through the rest of dinner, but I can’t stay at Andy’s tonight.”
“Alright, are you sure you don’t need me right now? Because I’ll drive up there and kick his ass.”
I laughed, wiping away a tear and steadying my voice. “Don’t do that. I just need some space to think. I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up the phone and collected myself before returning to the house. The table had been cleared, and the dishes washed without me. I sat beside Andy on the couch, feigning relaxation, even when every muscle in my body wanted to get away from him. I made terrible decisions around Andy. I couldn’t trust myself, even with my family around.
“Well, that’s nine,” Len said unceremoniously. “Next week?”
“I’m thinking chicken and dumplings,” Millie said, perching on the edge of Len’s recliner and draping an arm over his shoulders. “Maybe a berry cobbler for dessert. With the weather getting cold, I can only think about comfort food.”
“Sounds delicious,” Andy said. “I hope I’ll be back for it.”
“You won’t be here?” Millie frowned, her eyes moving to me questioningly. “I thought Nora said you’d both be back on Sunday.”
“She’ll be back. We’ll see how the opening goes.”
