Page 56 of All You Need Is Love

“Yes?”

“Did you … did you see about taking some extra time off? So you can stay here and help me fight this? Or survive it, at least?” He was silent for a moment or two, long enough for doubt to slip into the crevices of her splintering heart. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. “I mean, I know you have to go back to New York eventually, and I have to stay here to figure all of this out with Noah, but …”

“Of course I’ll stay.” His lips brushed hers again. “But, Shan, what happens if things don’t go the way you want them to?”

An owl hooted somewhere above them. “I haven’t thought that far. But if Noah’s mom does get custody again, then I think going back to work will help—seeing all the familiar faces, kids who need me, you know? And of course, resuming normal family functions and not being thrown into the craziness of a family reunion … that’ll help. Just taking it one day at a time, you know? To heal. To grieve. All of that.”

He loosened his hold on her a bit. “Maybe it would be a good time to come visit me.” His teasing smile touched the corners of his lips. “New York–style pizza and moonlit walks in Central Park are good for healing.”

Oh. How she wished she could. But the thought twisted her gut. Because suddenly, New York just felt so big, so foreign, and right now what Shannon needed was the comfort of home, of her small bubble of quiet and peace.

How to explain that to Marshall, though? “I would love to come to New York, but the timing … I mean.”

“Sure, maybe not right away. But once you’ve got the stuff with Noah resolved?”

Something in his voice—the hesitation—hinted at a deeper meaning in his question. Was he …? No. She was reading into it. Or maybe not. Maybe he really was asking her if she’d ever consider moving to New York. Eventually.

A shudder worked its way through her. She knew she wanted to be with Marshall, yes. But what place did a girl like her have in New York? The Big Apple was a city for women like Quinn—vivacious women who weren’t afraid to flaunt their confidence. Who weren’t afraid of new adventures and, in fact, relished in them.

The fear that Shannon had been trying to suppress all day reared its ugly head once more. Because the fact was, once Marshall was back in the flashy city, he’d see that Shannon’s shine dulled next to those kinds of women.

Her mouth opened, closed again. “Maybe. Yeah. For a visit.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“I … I don’t know. I just … I’m confused.”

“Confused about visiting?” His arms dropped from her waist, and he took a step back. “Or about us?”

“About everything. We’re just really different and then there’s the whole Quinn thing …” Her words sounded weak, she knew. And she didn’t mean them. Not really.

She didn’t want to mean them, anyway.

“I thought we talked about that. Said we’d figure it out.”

“And have you?” Because she certainly hadn’t.

“Well, no, but it shouldn’t be up to just me. Unless that’s your point.”

He didn’t understand. She’d been racking her brain too. But the only inevitable outcome she could see was his realization that Shannon didn’t stack up. Guys like him just didn’t end up with girls like her—not in real life.

But before she could say as much, a mask slipped onto his face, making him a stranger. No longer was he her Marshall, the man who had bared his soul on that playground two nights before. Instead, there stood the slick advertising executive who told people what they wanted to hear, who cared more about achievement than relationship.

Distant, aloof. Pretending.

He turned to leave.

“Wait.” She rounded in front of him.

“I think you’re right.” A flash of agony pierced through the mask, but then was gone. “We’re too different. We just want different things.”

No. She wanted him. He wanted her. At least, he had.

But maybe he’d thought better of it too.

“Marshall?” Tentative, Shannon lifted her hands to his cheeks, stroking them with her fingertips.

He grasped her wrists and slowly lowered her hands from his face. “Shannon, stop.” The words bit into her, like a slap across the cheek.

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