Page 85 of One Sweet Day is Never Enough

Twenty-One

Late Monday afternoon, Seth rolled back into town. It had been a long trip to Milwaukee and back. He and Stacey had chatted and laughed on the way to the airport, reminiscing about old times. They’d talked some more about how things had changed between them, and she said she finally understood why her plan to move there never would’ve worked in the long run. She’d even told Seth to tell Gia she was sorry for the way she’d behaved at the party. Seth thanked her and promised her he would.

He glanced at the lake as he drove down Main Street in Heritage Bay. The good news was, he’d learned his lesson—that he needed to take the initiative in his relationships, not rely on the wait-and-see approach. He also needed to trust his gut even when the outcome of the situation would make him uncomfortable. Gia had asked him to be more transparent with her in the future, and he promised himself he’d do that, too.

The bad news was, he’d made a huge mess of things by trying to dodge the details with both women. He only hoped he hadn’t lost Gia in the process.

She still hadn’t returned his calls. She had, at least, texted him back yesterday, telling him she wasn’t ready to discuss anything while Stacey was still here. He told her he understood. He just wished she’d talk to him.

She had every right to be upset. Stacey had been extremely rude to her and he’d put Gia in a very difficult position, as much as he’d tried to avoid it all evening.

But she was right. He needed to close out the Stacey part of his life entirely before he could give Gia everything that he wanted to. She deserved that from him, at the very least.

He cursed himself as he turned off the main road onto a side street, wondering how he was going to make it right with her. First things first, though—isn’t that what people always said?

The sprawling apartment complex where Stacey had rented the unit appeared on his right, and he steered into the lot. He parked outside the rental office, which had been closed yesterday when he and Stacey came by. He’d held onto Stacey’s key, promising he’d return it for her today.

He hopped out of the truck, went inside, and approached the receptionist behind the counter. “Hi. Is there a manager around that I can talk to about terminating a lease early?”

“Sure. I’ll get someone out here for you, if you’ll just have a seat.” She gestured politely to the chairs by the window.

“Thanks.” Seth sat down.

A couple of minutes later, Tom came into the lobby and held out a hand to shake. “Hey, Seth.” He smiled.

Seth stood up and frowned. “Tom.” He hadn’t necessarily expected to see Tom. Sure, there was a chance of it, but he was hoping he’d get someone who didn’t already have a bone to pick with him. “Good to see you again,” he lied.

“Come on.” Tom gestured with a nod and Seth followed him to his office. Tom closed the door behind them. “Have a seat.”

Tom didn’t seem angry and his voice wasn’t particularly threatening, as it had been the night of the bonfire, but Seth could only imagine what Tom must think of him now. Gia had probably talked to him since Saturday night and told him what had happened. Seth sat back, rested one foot on a knee, and painted the most reasonable expression he could manage across his face.

“So what can I do for you?”

Seth cleared his throat and tapped his fingers on the chair. “As you probably know, my, uh, ex-girlfriend rented a place here the other day. She signed the papers on Saturday.” He set the key on the desk in front of Tom. “She left this morning for California. She’s hoping to terminate her lease immediately without a penalty, if there’s any way you’d consider it. She’s on a plane right now so I promised her I’d stop by and see what your office had to say. We tried yesterday but you were, obviously, closed.”

Tom’s brow shot up and he sat back in his high-backed leather chair, nodding. “Hmm.” He scrubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin then sat up. “Yeah, that’s not a problem. I’ll return her security deposit and the full month’s rent, in full.”

Seth sat forward. “You will?” He’d figured Tom would’ve given him a hard time. What was going on here?

“Sure.” He nodded agreeably.

“Thanks. I really appreciate that,” Seth said cautiously then gazed at him for a long second. “Are we cool, man? I know things were a bit off between us last time I saw you.”

“We’re cool, yeah.” Tom sat forward. “So Stacey’s gone, huh? Just like that?” He snapped his fingers.

“Yeah. It’s over between us. Has been for a long time. She never should’ve rented the place. I’m really sorry we wasted your time.”

Tom waved it off. “No worries, man.” He stared at the desk for a second. “But you and Gia—and I apologize for getting personal here, but she’s a good friend of mine. She told me about Saturday night.”

Seth nodded. “Yeah, I made a huge mess of things. There are a lot of things I should’ve done differently. I was so stupid…” He ran a hand across his forehead and rubbed it over his eyes.

Tom brushed it off. “We’ve all been there, dude, but I have to ask you—are you going to make things right with her?”

Seth opened his eyes wider and stared back at Tom for a second. “I’m going to try my best, but I don’t even know if she’ll give me another chance. She hasn’t returned my calls.” He cast his gaze to the floor. “I care about her. I can’t lose her.”

Tom gazed at him. “You know, I thought you were bad news for her, but I think maybe I was wrong.”

Seth gazed at him, surprised. “Thanks.”

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