Page 135 of When You Had Me Adapting

“I thought we were grabbing a shower.” I grin. My face falls when I realize I don’t hear the water running anymore.

“No.” She shakes her head. “I think we should talk.”

“Talk? Everything okay?” Those five words make my stomach flip. Needing to talk is never a good thing.Is it?

“What’s in Australia?” she asks, walking over and grabbing one of my shirts out of my bag. She pulls it over her head and then climbs on to the bed.

“A job. Can you explain to me what’s going on?” I ask, confused. “Are you mad? You’re worrying me.” I keep my voice level, trying to process the sudden change in her mood.

“No, no,” she says. “I’m not mad, but I overheard your call. I wasn’t trying to be nosey, but I walked out to get my brush and I heard you mention my name.”

“I was telling Eli that you and I were back together, that’s all.”

“That’s not all, Jace. We said we were going to talk about things, so I think if you have an opportunity to go to Australia for work, we should talk about it.”

I walk over and sit next to her. “You’re right.” I smooth my hand over her hair. “I should have brought it up before now. I’ve been trying to find the right time to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“I accepted a job with the Center for North American Wildlife Conservation in Atlanta.”

“You accepted a job? Here?” A look that resembles relief covers her face.

“I did. I’ll be the director of photojournalism. It’s a lot less travel, more management. It’ll allow me to be near you and my dad.”

She sits there listening to me intently. “Okay, but why wait to tell me then? Why not turn down Australia once you knew you had the job?”

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “For starters, I saw this conversation going a little differently. Like maybe telling you over dinner or something special.”

“And the Australia conversation?”

“I just hadn’t done it yet.”

She nods. “What’s the job in Australia?”

“Six months or more photographing the Great Barrier Reef and studying the wildlife around it.”

“And you don’t want to do that? That sounds like a phenomenal opportunity.”

“It does, but I got the job here in Atlanta. You’re here. My dad’s here. Tanner is here.”

“You don’t care where Tanner is.” She laughs. “But you hadn’t turned it down until a few minutes ago. I know you, Jace. Your job, discovering the Bix, traveling the world, that’s your dream job. I think you hadn’t turned it down because part of you wanted to accept it.”

I run my hands down my face.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“You’re not wrong. Australia is a cool opportunity, but?—”

“Okay, so why not go? Why not take her up on it?”

I move closer to her and pull her into my lap. “For so many reasons, pixie.”

“Well, I think you should think about it. Really consider it. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here waiting and supporting you no matter what you decide. I meant what I said last night. I love you.”

“I love you too.” My lips brush hers and she pulls away.

“I know and that’s not going to change because you take a job halfway across the world. I don’t want you to give up your dreams because you’re scared I’ll run away again. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. Even when I thought you broke my heart, I loved you. If this is something you even want to do a little bit, then I want you to seriously consider it. Take me out of it. We can make it work. We can figure it out. We’re not kids anymore.”

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