Page 68 of Playing For Keeps
Our life together rides on what she has to say.
She sends me a warm smile. “Thanks for telling me everything and encouraging me to talk with Hunter about it.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I did what I should’ve done when I found out.”
Her posture caves in. “What do you think I should do about my job?”
“What did Hunter say?”
“He said I can come back if I want.”
My stomach drops, but I force a supportive grin on my face. “That’s great news.”
She tilts her head. “Is it?”
“It is.” I brace myself for the worst. “What do you want to do?”
Her green eyes search mine. “What do you think I should do?”
I get up and snuggle next to her, wrapping my arm around her. “You need to make this decision for yourself.”
“But I need your input.” She peeks up at me.
“Dori, it’s time you trust yourself and your decisions. My love for you has always been about having you make a choiceand standing behind you in whatever it turns out to be. That remains true now that we’re together.”
“And if I chose to go back to work there, where does that leave us?”
“Whatever you decide, we’ll figure out how to handle it together.”
She rests her head against my shoulder and takes a few minutes of silence.
My thoughts spin. If she goes back to work there, she could still be in danger. Hunter’s mother is volatile, and there’s no saying how much reach she’ll have behind prison walls.
Not only that, but how will that work with me in Miami, working for Mateo, and her at Efron Worldwide, working for Hunter? Where is our relationship going? Do we ultimately want the same things in life?
She bounces as she twists to me. “I know what I’m going to do.”
My heart rate ticks up. “What?”
“You say I’ve always come to you about another guy, asking you what I should do. I’ve always done that so you’ll fight for me and show me you love me. Well, that stops now.”
“Okay, you’re losing me.” I crease my eyebrows. “Are you saying this is about Hunter?”
“No. This is about our pattern. If one of us doesn’t break it, we’ll never get a different result.”
“I need you to help me out here. What are you saying? Because I’m not tracking.”
She laughs softly. “I’m sorry I’m not being clear. What I’m trying to say is I’ve always wanted you to choose me. My job is just anothermanin a different form.”
“So what does that mean?”
“It means I choose us. I know you’ll support me in any decision I make because you’ve always accepted my independence. You’ve always trusted me to make the rightdecision for me, even when it tears you apart. This time it won’t.”
My heart balloons. “Does that mean you want to move to Miami and look for a job there?”
She nods with a smile from ear to ear. “Yes, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I love you and need you in my life. There are a million jobs out there, but there’s only one of you.”
“That’s great news, but let’s be sure. You love your job at Efron Worldwide too.”
