Page 111 of The One That Got Away

I thought about asking Stella if she wanted to visit me somewhere whilst I was travelling. If we met up halfway through my trip, maybe the long-distance thing wouldn’t be so bad.

But then I’d dismissed it. She’d just got back from a two-week holiday. Even though she worked for her mum, I was sure she couldn’t take more time off work.

And I’d still be asking her to put her life on hold for me. A woman like Stella could have any guy she wanted. It wasn’t fair to ask her to stop looking for a proper relationship with someone else, just in case I changed my mind about wanting one.

So I’d just have to cross my fingers and hope that when I got back she was still interested. Given how we’d left things at the airport though, I didn’t rate my chances.

‘Uncle Maxey!’ Betty jumped off her seat. She ran over and threw her arms around my legs. Betty had her hair in two cute pigtails and was wearing the pink T-shirt I bought her on my last trip.

‘Hey, you!’ I quickly scooped her up, spinning her around the way I knew she liked.

‘Did you like your holiday?’ she asked as I placed her back on the ground. ‘And did you stay until the end like you promised?’

‘I did!’

‘Yay!’ she said enthusiastically. ‘Did you bring me something?’

‘Yep!’ I went to the hallway, picked up a gift bag then went back to hand it to her.

‘Sweetiesandcolouring pencils!’ Betty beamed. ‘Thank you!’ She hugged my legs again.

‘You’re welcome. I know you like colouring. There’s a notepad too.’

Stella had helped me pick the gifts when we visited Córdoba.

Stella.

Would it ever be possible for me to go five minutes without thinking about her?

‘Why don’t you help me in the garden.’ Natalie gave me a knowing smile. ‘Daddy and Uncle Max have some business to discuss.’

‘On a Sunday?’ Betty frowned. ‘I thought business was what Daddy did at work. He doesn’t work at the weekend.’

‘This is adifferenttype of business.’ Natalie ushered Betty outside.

Once they’d shut the patio door, Colton pulled out a chair and sat directly in front of me.

‘Spill,’ he said.

I didn’t even waste time trying to protest. Resistance was pointless. So I did what he’d asked and told him everything.

‘And that’s it. The end.’

‘What d’you meanthat’s it? So you’re just gonna give up?’ Colton shook his head. ‘I expected better from you, man. Especially after how you fucked up last time.’

‘That’s why I thought it was better to stop things now before I hurt her. Last time I didn’t explain myself properly. This time I did. I’ve learnt from my mistakes.’

‘You haven’t learnt shit. If you had, you wouldn’t let her slip through your fingers a second time.’

‘So what was I supposed to do? Ask her to put her life on hold for me just in case I’m ready when I get back?’

‘Newsflash: you can’t always wait until you feelreadyto do things. Otherwise you’d never do anything. Sometimes you justhave to take the leap and hope that the parachute opens. Remember when Natalie first told me she was pregnant?’

‘Yeah. You were shitting yourself.’

‘Exactly. I didn’t know anything about being a father. I hadn’t had the best role model. I didn’t feel ready. But I had tomakemyself ready. Even now sometimes I feel like I don’t have a damn clue what I’m doing. There are days that I feel like the worst father in the world, but I keep going. Putting one foot in front of the other. All I can do is my best and pray that’s enough. The same goes for relationships. They’re scary. You’ll make mistakes. But as long as you try your best and communicate, with the right person, you’ll make it through and the highs will outweigh the lows.’

‘That’s deep.’

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