Page 74 of Worth the Wait

Once inside, I closed the door behind me and glanced around, my mind already racing with what I wanted to pack up and bring back to Sugar Mountain and what could go in the trash. Plopping down on my bed, I pulled up Frederique’s phone number. I pressed Call and held my breath. He picked up quicker than I could gather my thoughts, and I found myself stumbling a little at the sound of his voice.

“Hi, Frederique. It’s Addison.”

“I hope this phone call is the answer I’ve been waiting for.” His accent filtered throughout the line as my nerves started kicking into full gear. Even though I wanted to tell him no, saying it out loud was still nerve-racking.

“I’m afraid it might not be.” I tried to sound delicate, but was sure I’d failed; my voice was shaking with no way to stop it.

“That’s unfortunate.” His voice took on a stern and incredulous tone. “You’re actually saying no?”

I cleared my throat and tried to refrain from sounding emotional. This was business, and I strived to be professional, even though I was currently struggling. “I am. Thank you so much for your offer. It’s incredibly flattering. And if I were a different person, I would have said yes without even having to think about it.”

“So, what kind of person are you, Addison Whitman?” He sounded a little less angry now and slightly amused at my response.

“The kind who wants to go home to her small town.”

“Ah,” he breathed out, as if understanding completely. “I see. We’re not all cut out for big-city life. I’d rather you say no to this offer than tell me yes, crash and burn, and take us all down with you.”

Okay then.

“I know a few people who I think would be really great chefs for you to get behind if you’d like me to text you their names,” I offered, hoping he’d say yes.

“I’d appreciate that. Text them over to me. And good luck to you, Miss Whitman. Your small town will be lucky to have you back home,” he said before abruptly ending the call.

I stared down at it to make sure we hadn’t gotten disconnected or muted somehow, but, nope, the call was over. Firing off a text message, I gave him the names of three chefs who I believed were extremely talented and hardworking and deserved this kind of chance before deleting Frederique’s contact information altogether.

I wouldn’t be needing it.

Patrick filled my thoughts, and before I could talk myself out of it, I pulled up the Messages app and sent him one.

I made it back to NY safe and sound. Just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you.

The three dots danced, and his response came through almost instantly.

I’m always thinking about you. Glad you’re safe.

I miss you. I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye.

I never want to hear another goodbye from you again, Addi.

What are we going to do?

Come home, and I’ll show you.

I almost started packing my things after that message, but then I remembered that I still had a job. A job I needed to give notice to. It was funny how once I’d decided that I didn’t want to be here anymore, I no longer wanted to spend another minute in this city.

I was antsy. Agitated. Felt like I was crawling out of my skin. But I couldn’t leave my restaurant high and dry without any notice at all. The least I could do was give them two weeks and hope they’d let me go earlier since I was bailing on my verbal contract before my time was up.

As for Patrick, well, I didn’t want to give him any false hope or a timeline that I couldn’t stick to. So, I said nothing after his last message and went to work doing what I needed to do in order to get back home to the only man I’d ever loved.

BETTER THAN A DREAM

PATRICK

Old habits died hard. And the ones I’d started after Addi first left were back in full force. I worked long hours to keep my mind off of the one thing it always seemed to drift to.

Her.

Addi had been back in New York for two weeks now. Fourteen torturous days. Hadn’t heard from her since our text message exchange, even though I was itching to get on the next flight to Manhattan and toss her over my shoulder, kicking and screaming if I had to.

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