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“So,” Jake asks. “What did Taylor say?”
“I don’t know.” Finley clasps her hands in her lap. “Veronica got her voicemail. Her phone is probably dead. Again.”
“Ace, you should go after her.” Jake pokes his needle through his fabric, his gaze fixated on his work.
I grip the embroidery frame in my fingers so hard, the wood creaks. “What do you mean?”
“Did you ask her to stay?” Finley angles toward me.
Setting my cross-stitch on the coffee table, I lean back on the sofa. “No. I couldn’t.”
“Did you want her to stay?”
I scrub my hand through my hair in frustration. “Of course. But I couldn’t ask her to give up her dreams for me. I want her to be happy.”
Jake huffs. “I’m pretty sure she’s as miserable as you are, my dude.”
Miserable? “Are you sure?”
“Oh yeah,” Jake says.
“Definitely,” Finley says at the same time.
Hope curls around my heart. I could go after her. But then what? What if I show up and she doesn’t want me there? What if they’re wrong? What if she’s already moved on?
I swallow. “What if she says no?”
Finley and Jake exchange a glance.
Finley reaches over and pats my knee. “At least then you’ll know you tried.”
She’s right. If I don’t try, if I don’t at least ask her to stay, as selfish as it might be, I’ll regret it forever.
I’ve already regretted every moment since she left.
Jake reaches around Finley and smacks my shoulder. “Go get our girl.”
ChapterTwenty-Seven
Taylor
I’m in Reno when I finally get a chance to charge my cell phone and return all the calls and messages I’ve missed.
“You want to sell Veronica’s?”
In her voicemail, she said she wanted to talk. I thought maybe she had a question about the new filing system, not that she wanted to retire and offer me the opportunity to purchase Veronica’s from her.
“It’s time for me to move. Past time, really. When I was with my son and his family, I realized I didn’t want to miss out on the little one growing up.”
I stare out the windows of the bus at the broadside of a white casino towering nearby. I stopped at an RV park for the night. I wanted a little rest and a little time to sort through all of the tumultuous emotions twisting through me. “I-I have to think about it.”
“Of course, honey, take your time. I know this might be the worst timing since you just started your new fancy job and all that. But I know how much you love this place. You’re like family to me, Taylor. I needed to make sure you didn’t want Veronica’s before I sell it off.”
“Thank you, Veronica. It really means a lot to me that you would ask.”
She clears her throat. “How is it going, by the way? With the new job?”
I rub my head. “Fine. It’s fine. Yeah, it’s great.” I inject enthusiasm into my voice.
