Page 101 of If Tomorrow Never Comes

Jamie

The following afternoon, Elliott went back to her own apartment to give Jamie privacy to make the call.

He hadn’t even had to ask—she’d offered—and he was grateful because he had no idea how this conversation would go. He had no idea how Carly would react, and he didn’t want an audience for this. Except Hank, who was a welcome presence at Jamie’s side as he lowered himself to the couch, phone in hand. He took two deep breaths, willed his heart to slow down, and dialed Carly’s number.

She answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

A tiny part of him braced for any lingering affection at the sound of her voice, but none came. He felt nothing but nerves and a genuine hope their friendship would remain after this. “Hey, Carly.” Hank nudged his thigh, and Jamie rested a palm on his fur. “How are you?”

“Great. Just leaving the gym.” The voices in the background suddenly quieted, like she’d walked out of a building. “It’s good to hear from you.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while. Kinda weird, not seeing you around, but I’ve been pretty busy, and you’re ...”

“Not there anymore?” she said with a laugh.

“Yeah.” He swallowed. “How’s Oklahoma? Everything going good down there?”

A few muffled sounds came through the phone, then the close of a car door. “It’s really great, Jamie. I know it’s only been three months, but I’m so happy here. I get to see my mom and my old friend Sasha all the time. I love the new job so much I can’t believe I didn’t take Mai up on it before now.”

“You’re glad you did it, then?”

“Yeah. I am.” She paused. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Really good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” She sounded like she meant it. After a beat, she asked, “So were you just calling to say hi, or ...?”

He leaned forward over his knees and pressed a fist to his forehead. He’d sat on it all day and still didn’t know how to start. What was the best way to say it?

“I did want to say hi. I’ve been wondering how you were doing,” he started. “But there’s also something I wanted to talk to you about. I, uh, wanted to tell you I’ve started seeing Elliott.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m ... dating her. We’re together. Romantically.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. That was one way to do it.

She said nothing for a moment, and he forced himself not to fill in the silence. Let her hear it. Process it. “Oh.”

“I just didn’t want you to hear about it from someone else, and ... I don’t know.” Suddenly restless, he stood and walked to the window. “I wasn’t sure if it would upset you. I guess I wanted to tell you myself. In case you wanted to talk about it?”

“It’s definitely ...” She trailed off. “Surprising. When did that happen?”

“Um, a couple months ago?”

“A couplemonths?”

Hadn’t it been? Maybe not—God, why hadn’t he been prepared for that question? “Not quite. I mean, I don’t know exactly. It was after you left, and we’d been broken up for a while by that point anyway—”

“How soon after I left?”

“A month?” Why did it sound like a question?

“Wow.”

He was tempted to bring up the guy he’d heard she was with in Oklahoma, but it would be a defense mechanism. Deflection from why he’d called in the first place, which wouldn’t do any good. He needed to face this head-on.

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