Page 63 of Flame Kissed

Leilani reached out, placing her hand over top of Adaze’s. She laced their fingers together, squeezing her hand. “And I don’t need to. I don’t think you would leave me if I didn’t offer to do this. I’m not offering it out of some desperate attempt to keep us together or make this work but because I think it’s a good way for us to start.”

Adaze took a deep breath before nodding. “If you’re comfortable with it, then I think I’d like it if you started telling me when you have plans?”

“I wouldn’t have offered to if I wasn’t comfortable. What would you want to know to feel most comfortable?”

“I—could you tell me where you’re going, who you’re with and around what time I can expect you to be back?” She let out a bitter laugh. “God, that sounds so controlling when I say it out loud.”

“That’s why this isn’t a long-term fix, but we can start like this. As long as you understand, I’m never asking you if I can do something. I’m just telling you my plans while you get more comfortable and work on things. As you get more comfortable, we’ll check in and revisit what information we need to talk about ahead of time.”

She sucked in a long breath. “Thank you. I haven’t tried dating since the divorce. Diana tried to warn me that it might bring up old emotions for me. I should have listened and booked an extra few therapy sessions. Like I said, I will be making some after this.”

“That’s good to hear. The main thing that needs to change is I need you to talk to me. I need you to keep me in the loop.”

“I can work on that.”

“That’s all I’m asking for. I love you and I want us to find a way to make this work.”

“I love you too, and I’m going to do what I can to make this work.”

“We just need to decide what we want that to mean.”

“Long term, what do you want that to mean?”

Leilani hummed. “I’d want us to live together. Probably sooner than we maybe should. Not right away, of course. We need time to figure things out, but it is something I want when the time comes.”

“I want that too. Would you want—I mean do you plan on moving back to Hawaii at some point?”

Leilani thought for a minute. “I can’t promise I’ll never think about moving back, but I will say it isn’t a choice I can imagine making right now.”

“Okay, I’m a little worried if you do end up changing your mind, what that would mean for us, but I do want to let you know, since I own my own company, I can work remotely if needed, but I’d need to travel back at least a few times a year.”

Leilani’s jaw dropped. “You own the company? I knew you were the acting CEO and a big deal, but holy cow! When were you going to tell me?”

Adaze shrugged, looking away. “I don’t know. I wasn’t trying to hide it. It just never came up.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve asked you what you did for work at least once before.”

She shrugged. “Alright, maybe I should have explained better.”

Leilani snorted. “Yeah, I think you should have. I knew you had money, but damn. I didn’t know it was own-your-own-company money.”

“Companies.”

“What?”

“You said I own my own company, but in the interest of transparency I should be clear. It’s companies. I own three.”

“Three? Good lord, how did you find time to meet anyone?”

“That’s part of what went wrong last time.”

“What do you mean?”

Adaze shrugged, looking away. “I mean I have a tendency to get buried in my work. Veronica got lonely. I neglected her. That’s why she cheated. It was my fault.”

“No, she made a choice and that was on her. If I start to feel like you aren’t giving me enough attention or spending enough time with me, I’ll talk to you. If you choose not to listen, then that’s on you.”

Adaze shook her head. “You really are something special, you know that.”

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