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Two weeks.
He longed to keep peeling her layers back and seeing what more lay under the surface with her but he was running out of time.
He swallowed. “Is it that obvious?”
Beau snorted. “Yes. But there ain’t nothing wrong with that. She’s a good woman and you deserve that. And from what I know of her, she deserves you too. You’re well matched, you just seem to fit.”
Will didn’t disagree.
“So, what are you gonna do?” Beau asked.
Will turned back to him, taking a sip of his scotch. “About?”
“You live in L.A. You have a life and a career over there. Are you just gonna give it all up?”
If only.Will recoiled. “I can’t give it up.”
Beau shrugged, peeling at the sticker on his beer bottle. “Why not?”
“Because people need me. The show needs me, the businesses need me and the charities.”
Beau gestured to Rebelle with his bottle. “And what about her? She needs you.”
Will snorted. “If there’s one thing I know about her, she doesn’t need anyone.”
“If you say so. But you’re forgetting about someone else: me. I need you. Blake, Dean, Christy, Taylor, Justine. We all need you, it’s been perfect having you here.”
Anxiety rose in Will’s chest and he struggled to breathe around it. Even though he knew that Beau and the others needed him in a different way, it was just more pressure piling on him.
“But what about you, what do you need?” Beau added quietly, like he could see how much this whole thing was stressing Will out.
Will looked around, imagining what it would be like to give it all up. The slice of happiness he’d carved out for himself after decades of feeling incomplete. Happiness he’d taken at the expense of everyone else. He could feel it all slipping through his fingers, feelherslipping through his fingers.
Two weeks…
“Hey fellas, sorry to interrupt but just wanted to say hi.” The vet from the clinic appeared at the end of their booth. Beau extended his hand in introduction and the vet shook it, then Will’s despite having already met him.
“I’m Jae, I know we’ve met but not properly.”
“Nice to meet you, Jae. I’m Beau and I’m guessing you know this big lug?” Beau nodded at Will.
Jae nodded and proceeded to ask Will about the Pitbull that Rebelle had named Daisy. Will couldn’t believe it when she offered up a name for the dog, knowing how she had resisted previously in her attempt to remain detached from the animals. Her tough shell was showing some cracks lately, and he hoped he’d had something to do with it.
“Yeah Daisy’s getting there. She doesn’t come out much, but you can tell she’s getting more curious.”
“That’s great, I knew Rebelle would be perfect for helping her. Speaking of Rebelle, I just wanted to apologize for the other day. I didn’t realize you two were a couple.” Jae rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
Will’s scotch paused halfway to his lips. “What?”
“With Rebelle. I asked her out, but she mentioned you were seeing each other.”
Beau faced Will, a shit-eating grin spread across his mouth. “Oh she did, did she? Well, ain’t that nice?”
Jae began to look nervous. “I didn’t realize, I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
Possessiveness clenched Will’s gut tight and a fierceness swooped over him. “We are. No apology necessary, excuse me gentlemen,” he said, getting up from the booth.
He heard Beau sigh and say, “You’d better keep me company, Jae. This could be a while.”
