Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Auggie looks anxious before looking out his side of the car, so I look down at my hands in my lap and try to corral my own anxieties. I notice the ring on my hand—Althea’s beautiful ring—and feel a surge of emotion overtaking me. Through those cassettes, I’ve come to love and adore Auggie’s grandma, even though I’ve never actually met her. Knowing she wore this ring, and adored it, made me feel proud to wear it today. Also, as dumb as this sounds, I liked wearing Auggie’s engagement ring today, period. It felt nice on my finger. It felt right. I liked introducing him around as my fiancé. No, I loved it. Frankly, I’ll be sad to take this ring off at the hotel. Sad to be single and un-engaged and back to reality again.
Auggie looks away from the window to level me with blazing eyes. “Charlotte, listen to me. I think you’d wind up regretting it if you passed up this job. If the time you’re taking to think about it has anything to do with me, then take me out of the equation. Put yourself first. You don’t do that very often. That’s clear to me now. You take care of everyone else. This time, I want you to take care of yourself and nobody else.”
My spirit sinks into my toes.
I know he’s trying to be supportive and encouraging. I know he’s looking out for me. I also know, two weeks ago, before I’d ever laid eyes on Auggie Vaughn, I would have accepted that job offer in two seconds flat. But the thing is, I have met Auggie Vaughn, and I’ve now felt things with him I’ve never felt with anyone else. Even in the midst of turmoil, I’ve had the time of my life with this sweet, sexy, adorable man.
The woman I am today understands what he’s trying to do. He’s putting me first, above all else—even his own heart. His own desires. But the little girl in me, the one who was raised on fairytales and rom coms and boy bands, can’t help feeling disappointed he's not fighting tooth and nail to keep me by his side, the same way the tin-foil-covered prince always slayed every fire-breathing dragon to keep the princess by his side during our earliest puppet shows.
I hold Auggie’s blue gaze, feeling conflicted. Rejected. Confused. Grateful. Hell, I don’t know what I feel, to be honest. I do think he’s right about one thing, though: if I don’t take this job, I’ll probably wind up regretting it. Wondering “what if?” Objectively, it really is the opportunity of a lifetime. The best job I could possibly hope for in my line of work. Accepting it should be a no-brainer—and, logically, the no-strings-fun I’ve had with Auggie shouldn’t change that. “Thank you,” I say. “I think you’re right. I’ll reply when we get to the hotel to accept the position.”
Auggie subtly recoils, like I’ve slapped him across the face, even though he’s the one who just told me to take the fucking job. If that’s not what he really wants, then he’d better say so. And right fucking now.
I stare at him, nonverbally telling him to beg me not to go, and Auggie gnaws on his lower lip like he’s considering saying something. But in the end, he forces a smile and says, “Congratulations, Charlotte. You deserve this.”
Fight for me, Auggie. That’s what my eyes are trying to convey. I can’t promise it would make any difference in the end. There are no guarantees in matters of the heart, and the odds are stacked against us. But what if it would? There’s only one way to find out. Fight for me. Fight for us.
“Looks like our trip to New York is off, huh?”
I exhale. “Yeah, I guess so. I’ll need to head back to Seattle tomorrow, so I can pack up all my stuff and clear out the condo, get a real estate agent to help me figure out next steps, and then fly out to Dallas on Sunday to be there in time for training on Monday.”
Auggie’s Adam’s apple bobs. “That money I owe you—the extra you took out on your credit cards.”
“We’ll get paid in two weeks.”
“But if you run into any issue at all with interest before then, I can go back to doing solo shows to—"
“Don’t do that. The new job comes with a signing bonus of ten grand, so I’ll be able to pay off all my cards with that. And don’t you dare go back to doing solo shows, Auggie. You hate doing them. You need to figure out another way, going forward. If I’m going to put myself first, then you need to promise to do the same.” Why are we talking about money, when I want to know what he’s truly thinking and feeling?