Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“I think,” I said, “I should get out of here.”
“We still have a few more things to talk about,” Noah said. “We need your input.”
I grumbled as I leaned over the table toward him.
“Look, I need to go,” I said. “Whatever you guys decide, I am with you on, okay?”
“Are you sure you want to just give us blanket permission like that?” he asked, his mouth curling up in a grin. Weeks of bickering over the size of and amenities in the kitchen ran through both of our minds, and I saw the flicker of laughter on his lips.
“Once,” I said. “Just this one time. Use it wisely.”
He nodded.
“Alright, man. I won’t decide to downsize your kitchen or anything. Get out of here,” he said.
Nodding, I stood back up.
“Noah has my vote on anything that comes up. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I said, brushing by them before they could object. As I reached Jodi, I took her by the elbow. She came willingly but seemed like she was walking through mud, unaware of what she was doing. Ally handed me the glass as I walked by her, but she stayed in the tasting room. I got Jodi into the kitchen where we were at least temporarily alone and spun around so I could face her.
It was my safe spot. The kitchen was the one place that was my sanctuary. Even Ally would leave me alone here if she thought I needed it. Clearly, she did at the moment. In a nook of the kitchen where I often kept a small glass and a bottle of whiskey in case I needed a drink during a stressful service, I waited on Jodi to speak. But she stayed quiet, and I began to get impatient. I didn’t want to push her, but I had to figure out what was going on in her head.
I searched my mind for what I could say, what I could ask without making her more upset. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized there was really only one approach to all of this. Everything from what was happening right now to the overall problem. Directness. Addressing things head-on with no ambiguity. That was the only way forward.
“Well,” I asked, “what do you want to do?” I took a deep breath. “Are you leaving?”
I hated even asking that question. I didn’t want her to go. More than anything ever, I didn’t want her to go. It had only been a few weeks, but I was hopelessly attached to her. Our evening routine from the night before was something I wanted to keep doing for as long as possible. Our comfort with one another, the domesticity of our time together away from the restaurant, it was all so… perfect.
Enough of that time together and I could see myself falling for her. Enough time together like that and I could see joining my brothers in the special club they ribbed me about not being in. The one Noah and Alex and Kane had joined. The one that at thirty-two, everyone seemed to feel like I should have joined already. But I had been waiting. Waiting for the right person.
My mind fought the finality of what came next. But it was losing. The right person had to come along eventually. Why couldn’t it be her?
I watched her eyes as they searched the floor at her feet. She was thinking. Deciding. And in that decision was my hopes for her to stay. My hopes for what I thought might be my immediate future. Our immediate future.
“I don’t want to leave,” she said. “I really don’t. I like it here. I am enjoying…” She took a moment, looking up into my eyes, seemingly searching for the right words. “Spending time with you,” she finished. She swallowed hard, seeming to gauge my reaction. I nodded.
“Me too,” I said. “I am enjoying it a lot too.”
She nodded, relief seeming to come over her a bit.
“Maybe,” she muttered, her eyes falling back down to the floor as if a sudden thought occurred. “Maybe…”
“Maybe what?” I asked.
“I don’t know that if Jack did find me that he would tell my parents,” she said. “I assumed he would, but he’s my brother. Maybe he would understand. Maybe he would take pity on me.”
“Pity?”
“We were always close,” she said. “He, if anyone, understands what is going on with them. I honestly don’t know who he sides with, but there’s a chance he sides with me.”
I sighed.
“How long can you go on living like this?” I asked. “Running all the time. Hiding. It’s insane.”
“I only need one more year.”
I cocked my head to the side and stared at her. She didn’t seem to want to elaborate, but I needed more information than that. I waited and when she said nothing, I figured I was going to have to drag it out of her like I did just about everything else.