Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 117177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
And the name that flashed on his screen was “Darcy.”
My heart lurched in my chest, and I reached over to tap his screen. And I didn’t even need to think about invading his privacy because the preview on the banner was enough.
Her text started with Today was fun . . .
Blood whooshed in my ears.
Today was fun? He’d seen her today? Today when I’d asked him to join me for lunch because I hated the distance between us and he’d told me he had lunch plans with his father?
Okay.
Now I was way past worried.
Why would he not tell me he’d seen Darcy today unless he had something to hide?
Tears threatened, and I felt this itchy, panicky sensation.
I didn’t think love was supposed to feel this way. Althea and Michelle didn’t have this kind of drama in their lives.
Oh God, was I destined to repeat my parents’ mistakes?
NO! a loud voice screamed from the back of my head.
No, I would not end up in a relationship like theirs.
The bathroom door suddenly opened, and Chris stepped out in just his underwear. I ignored how beautiful he was as he shot me a look of confusion. “Why are you just standing there?”
I waited for him to pull on his jeans before I lifted his phone and handed it to him.
Frowning, he took it and swiped up the screen. He froze at the sight of Darcy’s text.
“You told me you were having lunch with your father today and that’s why you couldn’t meet me.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, and to my shock, Chris glowered as he looked up from his phone. As if he were the wronged party. “I did have lunch with my father today. Darcy showed up with a friend. My father asked them to join us. It was a coincidence.”
“And you didn’t think that was worth mentioning?”
He hauled a T-shirt on and left the bedroom. Chris spun around in the middle of the living room. “I would have told you tonight, but you saw the text before I could. I can’t keep doing this with you, Hallie. I can’t keep assuring you that there’s nothing going on with Darcy.”
I scoffed. “You think her turning up to the restaurant is a coincidence? Chris, there are over eight million people in this city and over twenty-six thousand restaurants, and she just happens to walk into the same one?”
He smirked at me. “How do you know those stats?”
Fury flamed through me. “This isn’t a joke!”
Chris gritted his teeth and took a deep breath before answering. “I don’t want to stand here and yell. That’s not the relationship I want to be in. I’ve told you, nothing is going on.”
“Then where are you?” I lowered my voice, taking a step closer to him. “I can feel you pulling away from me.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “That’s not true. You have no idea how much I think about you all the time. I’m here.”
His words were pretty, but they didn’t match his actions. I said as much and continued, “Before you, I would have just let it go. I would have shoved down this feeling and pretended like it wasn’t happening. Like you weren’t pushing at all my insecurities.” But he and Althea and even Lia helped me learn to stand up and do what’s best for me too. “Staying quiet in this relationship while you pull away and have secret lunches with your ex-girlfriend makes me feel bad about myself. I don’t want to be in a relationship that feels like this one does. It’s horrible.”
Chris stared at me in disbelief. “Hallie . . . I didn’t invite her, she just showed up in the same spot. As for the pulling away”—he took a step toward me—“I’m not pulling away. I got offered a job in Houston as a mission specialist for NASA. They offered it to me three weeks ago, and I only have a week left to give them my answer before the offer expires.”
Renewed hurt and confusion filled me. And definitely anxiety too. Was he leaving New York? “And how come you haven’t told me anything about that?”
“I wasn’t sure I wanted the job, and I didn’t see any point in bringing our future up for discussion until I thought more about whether the job was something I really wanted. It’s a lot for you to consider. For us to discuss. Whether we’d do long-distance or . . . I didn’t want to throw that at you unless I was seriously considering it.”
“But how can you ever make a fully informed decision unless we discuss it? I mean, I would never stand in the way of what you wanted.” Tears filled my eyes. “But if we’re serious about each other, then surely that’s a factor in whether you want the job. I don’t think you can separate the two. You should have trusted me enough to handle it.”