Page 78 of The Love Chase

Dreams weren’t meant to be lonely.

Being back in California for a couple days had also made me realize something I’d been denying for a long time. Too long. Probably long before I even recognized what it was.

I loved Emma. Heart, soul, mind, every piece of her.

It may have taken a dumb scheme to get me to recognize it, but now that I was sure of my feelings, all I wanted was to run back home to Meridel, to my wife.

I wanted to love her for real—if she’d let me.

I was ready to go home.

There was just the little problem of my contract and Bridget’s threats about what would happen if I broke it again.

With a sigh, I poured the second mug of coffee I had absentmindedly made for Emma down the drain.

What am I doing? I shouldn’t even be here. I should be home with Emma.

It should’ve been proof enough by how poorly my gigs went that I needed her—wanted her with me.

Everything I thought I always wanted was right here, but it meant nothing without someone to share it with. I didn’t know when the familiar started to feel foreign, or when the things that used to be bright, vivid colors turned black and white, but a switch had flipped, and I knew what I needed to do now.

I pulled out my phone, heart hammering as I waited for the call to connect.

Bridget answered on the first ring. “Yeah?”

I braced myself for impact.

“We need to talk.”

Emma

Ifelt Liam’s absence everywhere.

Though he wasn’t a loud person to begin with, the house was far too quiet with him gone. There was no quiet strumming of a guitar downstairs, no sound of the shower running or the espresso machine brewing. The sofa bed was folded back up, blankets and pillows folded neatly in the corner, any sign of him having slept there entirely gone.

Even the fact that his shoes weren’t by the front door bothered me. I’d never thought I’d miss the sight of those old, dirty cowboy boots he never went anywhere without, but I did.

What I had feared was right.

Liam leaving this time was so much worse than the first time.

Because now that I’d had a taste of what it meant to truly have him, I’d dared to let my heart feel more, and now he was back in California, where he belonged, and I was here, where I belonged, alone.

I didn’t know a heart could ache this fiercely.

Trying to shove the pieces of my heart into a box to be dealt with later, I pulled into the parking garage of the convention center, determined to try to enjoy this experience that I’d waited so long to be able to go to. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t here with me, that I’d be walking through the exhibits and showcases alone.

All that mattered right now was seeing all the new weather tech and doing what I loved for a while.

After briefly getting lost trying to find the hall that it was being held in, I finally walked inside, a quiet gasp slipping through my lips. Rows upon rows of booths and screens were set up, showing off new gear, new radars, and new research.

But what really caught my eye was the ginormous diorama of a twister on the back wall that towered over the entire convention. It looked so real and lifelike that I was immediately drawn to it, before getting sucked into all the other booths.

Needless to say, the Storm Chasing Convention was everything I ever hoped it would be. I’d never felt more at home among my fellow weather nerds. Seeing and testing out the latest and greatest in chasing equipment and instruments was a blast. Getting to nerd out without fear of judgement or weird looks was a breath of fresh air. Being around people who were just as excited and passionate about severe weather as me was everything. I hadn’t realized how much I needed it.

And yet, every time I started to enjoy myself, something tugged at my heart, reminding me that I was here alone, and the man that would have been at my side was halfway across the country doing what he loved.

I kept thinking I saw him, my heart racing for a moment, until I realized it was only some stranger. I saw him when my fingers fiddled over the updated versions of my own gadgets, reminding me of being in the garage with Liam staring at me in that way that sent heat flooding through my body.

---