Page 57 of The Fate of Us

I walkinto Carson’s office and collapse into one of the chairs facing his desk.

“That bad, brother?”

I rub my hands over my face, trying to find some sort of comprehension as to what the hell just went on in my life. The woman who I thought I loved for ten years strolls back into my life expecting to pick up where we left off. And the woman who now owns my heart has walked away. Even if she said she only needed space, I could tell by that kiss that she was giving up on me. Giving up on us.

“I fucked up.”

Carson takes his glasses off and folds his hands over his desk. “Clearly.”

I lean over, elbows on my knees as I stare at the Turkish rug on the floor of Carson’s office, memorizing the pattern on the edge of the rug.

I hear Carson get out of his chair and see his feet in front of me. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened.”

I look up to see him leaning against the front of his desk, arms crossed. “Claire showed up on my doorstep this morning.”

“Excuse me?” Carson coughs. “Did you just say Claire?”

I nod as I lean backward against the chair, throwing my head backward. “Anna answered the door. In my t-shirt.”

“Well Claire is no longer your problem, Noah. That divorce was settled. She isn’t tied to you anymore.”

“Not according to her.”

“She isn’t your problem.”

“Well she caused enough other problems.”

Carson sighs. “What did you do?”

“Claire is different. She’s changed. She isn’t the girl next door anymore. She acted like a snake. She insulted Anna.”

“And?”

I let out a long breath. “I didn’t defend her.”

Carson whistles. “Mistake number one.”

He knows me well enough to know that I can’t just let one bad thing happen when shit goes south. It always spirals into a giant snowball. Making my life a mess that takes too much effort to crawl out of.

“Anna left.”

“Permanently?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure. We fought. I begged her to stay. She said she needed space.”

Carson bites his thumb. “I see. And knowing you, you let her go?”

“I know how her brain works. She runs. When things get tough she runs away.”

“You didn’t chase after her?”

I groan. Maybe I should have this time. “No. I didn’t. I let her go because I know she needed that space. But when she kissed me, it felt a whole lot like goodbye, Car.”

“Doesn’t she leave for Nashville tomorrow?”

I nod. “That’s what worries me. She runs when her heart is broken. And now she is ready to go to this workshop and I’m not sure she will come back.”

“Did she say anything to you about leaving?”

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