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“Yes,” she said fondly. “Minus the giant family portrait wall.”
I laughed. “Do you think . . .?” I hesitated. Did I want to put a voice to my desires?
JoJo waited patiently while I collected my thoughts.
“Do you think we could have a home like this?” I finally asked.
“You want to move into a house?”
I shook my head. “No. How itfeels.”
Light dawned in her eyes. “We can.”
Relief swept through me. “I hate my apartment. It’s . . . miserable. Which makes no sense. It’s an inanimate object. A place can’t have feelings, but I swear it does. Sometimes I never want to go back.”
“Then don’t.”
I blinked at her. She made it sound so simple.
That apartment was a trophy that no longer mattered. The spiteful side of me still didn’t want Alma to have it.
“Just leave it all behind?”
She lifted a shoulder and lowered it. “Sure. You could go get your things if you want them. Or you could start new.”
I furrowed my brow. “You’re telling me to buy new stuff when I have perfectly good old stuff?”
“Maybe there are some men who could use gently used suits to start their careers.”
“Where would I go?”
She squeezed my hand. “You could come home. Where you belong.”
Home.
A real one. With my person and my daughter. Was it possible?
Doubt clouded my head. There were no guarantees in life, but I absolutely could not go through a repeat of the last two decades. JoJo wasn’t capable of inflicting the misery Alma was. But what if we weren’t suited to be together? What if we failed?
“It’s ready for you, whenever you want,” she said.
“How are you so sure?” There was a desperate quality to my voice.
She pointed at her heart. “This tells me. I should’ve listened to it a long time ago.”
“If we keep looking back we can’t move ahead.”
“You are full of wise words, Mr. Zegas.” She tugged on my hand and led me to the kitchen.
“I don’t want to be miserable anymore.”
She stopped. “Are you? Still?”
I thought back from the moment she’d come to my office. She’d plugged me back into a socket and flipped the on switch. There were times being together hadn’t been fun, but it was miles better than being without her.
I hadn’t had a drink in days.
I wasn’t so keen on spending all my time at the office.
