Page 124 of Playing For Keeps
I turn to her. “Honestly, I’m one hundred percent okay with it. In fact, I’m happy he’s moving on. He deserves a woman who can treat him better than I did. I hope he finds it. I really do.”
“That’s refreshing to hear. I would’ve rung your neck if you had said otherwise.”
“Rightfully so.” Heat spreads through my chest. “I’m meant to be with Jami. It’s always been him.”
“I could’ve told you that a year ago, but I knew you wouldn’t listen. That’s why I always pushed you to get into therapy.”
My mouth drops open. “Why do you think I wouldn’t listen to you?”
“Because you’re Dori. You need to be the one who comes up with the idea or you reject it or rebel against it. It’s who you are.”
“No. That’s who Iwas.” I place my hand over my heart. “I’ve worked really hard to step into my power and own my decisions. I’m proud of that, but I’ve also worked on listening and taking other people’s feelings and viewpoints into consideration.”
She steps away from the railing. “But what about your tendency to go MIA?”
“I value knowing the truth about things, but I don’t need to hide away anymore so I can overanalyze every part and then decide what to do. I check in with myself and trust how I’m feeling. Then I go from there.”
“You’ve come a long way, sweet pea. I’ve got to hand it to you. Well done.” She motions to go inside. “Let’s go find out where she is with the offer.”
I follow her inside and glance around. Desi still isn’t back from talking with Jami.
What’s taking so long?
“Wait here. I’ll go see where she is.” Melanie disappears down the hall in search of Desi.
I let my mind wander back over the past year and all the work I’ve done to better myself. My stomach bubbles with pride. I’ve made a lot of changes. All for the better, and my life is in a great place.
It would be perfect if Aiden and I were on better terms, but we’re working on mending our relationship one day at a time.
We had another setback, though, when I confronted him about telling me about the girl whose shoulder was dislocated. Since then, we only communicate by text.
He’s keeping me informed about his progress with findingSasha. It’s slow, but he’s earning back the trust of some of his FBI contacts, so he thinks he’s close to finding out her whereabouts.
As far as my dad and uncle, they’re in hot water and will probably be charged soon. Those issues are the easy part for us to discuss.
Jami’s still the sore spot. Aiden still can’t get over the betrayal, and Jami is still angry with Aiden’s part in my abduction and how he shared information with me that was taken out of context. Aiden says he’s in therapy, so I can only hope in time everything gets resolved.
Desi and Mel come back into the living room. Mel excuses herself to take one more look around before we leave.
Desi tucks her phone into her purse. “Sorry that took so long, but Jamison needed to run some numbers. I’m meeting with him tomorrow morning, and we’re writing up the contract then.”
“Why can’t you do that now?”
“He said he was meeting with someone special.” She blinks, and her cheeks grow red. “I’m assuming that’s you?”
“No. I don’t have plans to meet with him.” The blood drains from my limbs, and I go weak in the knees.
Who is this someone special Jami’s meeting with?
He didn’t mention anything to me about having meetings today. As a matter of fact, he said he blocked the day off to organize the new team he’s hired. My heartbeat goes into overdrive.
Mel strolls back into the room. “I’m ready to go if you are.”
“Desi, do you think you can give Melanie a ride back to her car? I need to run an errand.” I take my keys out of my purse and trek to the front door, not waiting for a reply.
“Sure. I’m happy to help,” Desi says to my retreating back.
“Thanks.” I open the door with shaky hands. “Mel, I’ll be in touch.”
