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“You’d rather I stay here and miss this chance?” She folded her arms over her chest.
“I’d rather you’d at least talked to me about it.” I plowed a hand through my hair.
“I don’t need your permission.”
I recoiled. “Why would you think you did?” She just looked at me, and I fought the urge to punch the wall. “What am I supposed to do now about the apartment?”
“I’m sorry.” But she wasn’t, at least not for going to Paris. “I’ll talk to the manager, try to explain what happened.”
“Where am I going to live? I can’t afford that place on my own, and I got nowhere else to go.”
“What about your brother and sister?”
Jules and I had talked about living together since last year. Guess it meant more to me than it did to her. “I thought you were excited about our future, or am I the only one feeling that way?”
“Mitch…”
“Are you coming back, or is that gonna be a last minute decision too?” I spat.
Her face darkened. “Of course I am.”
“We’ll see.” I acted like I didn’t care, when it really felt like my entire world was crumbling around me.
“You can’t be happy for me,” she said, and she actually had the nerve to sound disappointed.
“I am, Juliana. But I’m not happy about the way you dropped this bombshell.” I balled my fists at my sides. “And since when is coming back to Burdett a prison sentence? This is where our family is, where we were gonna start our life together.”
“I know that.” Her tone softened. “But once we’re tied to the ranch, we’ll never be able to get away. Look at your parents. When’s the last time they went anywhere?”
“They went to Houston a while back.”
“That’s not the same thing as Paris.”
“What if I wanted to be the one to take you?”
“You never would.” Bitterness tinged her words.
“It sounds like being with me is pretty damn awful. Once we’re out of school, you’ll be ‘tied’ to me on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. I’m sorry I can’t be Paris.” I dug my fingernails into my palm but barely registered the bite of pain.
“I’m not asking you to be.” She bunched the fabric of her shirt in her hand.
“Then what are you asking?”
“Not a damn thing. I’m telling you I’m going to Paris in two days.”
“Well, have a nice trip.” I glared at her. She glared right back.
“I will.”
“And since I’m such a thorn in your ass, don’t worry yourself with me. You just go on over there and have yourself a time.”
A line creased her forehead. “What are you saying?”
“I’m never going to be a worldly kind of guy. I thought you liked that about me. Hell, I thought you were actually excited about our plans.”
“Just because I’m studying abroad for a semester doesn’t mean I don’t want the life we planned.” Her voice rose to a fevered pitch.
I sniffed bitterly. “The fact you didn’t tell me until you practically have one foot on that plane says otherwise.”
