Page 98 of I Choose You
There was a beat of silence; the only sound was my heartbeating. I hadn’t said my plan out loud. It was probably crazy, but I didn’t care.
“I know what you meant. As much as I would love for you and Claire to stay in Calla Bay, make your home here, I understand that isn’t always the case. I had to let Lydia go to New York and live her life out there. If you are in Connecticut, I’ll have to be okay with that too. Let your life lead you to new experiences, Reid. Even if that means building your life away from home.”
“Thanks, Dad. Love you.”
“Love you too. Go get her.”
With that call done, I texted the group chat to fill in the guys.
Me: I’m going to CT.
Seb: Go bring back your girl, you grumpy bastard.
Luke: How long are you gone for?
Me: Permanently, I guess.
Wyatt: WTF. And you tell us you’re moving to another state via text?
Me: It’s only four hours away. I’ll come back to visit.
Luke: What about your house? What about your business?
Me: I’m going to sell. I’ll figure it out.
Me: I can’t just let her go. I can’t lose her.
Wes: Let the man go and be with his love.
Me: Thank you, Wes.
I closed out of the text chain and started packing, throwing a bunch of shit in a bag. I would worry about the rest later.
The sun was already setting. It would make more sense to wait until tomorrow rather than to show up at her parents’ estate in the middle of the night, but now that I had made my decision, I couldn’t wait a moment longer.
I called Richie from my truck’s Bluetooth and asked him to take the lead on tomorrow’s work. I had a couple of smaller jobs on the schedule that I had put off during the Delano Library project, but my crew was more than capable of handling them without me. It crossed my mind to see if maybe they would want to go in together to buy out the business.
Thoughts swirled through my head as I tried to think of all the things that I would need to do now. First thing on the agenda was to find a place for Claire and me in Connecticut. She would still be with her parents, I assumed. That was where I was headed anyway. Should I text her? What if she wasn’t staying there? They would at least know where she was. But would they tell me? I didn’t think I’d made the best impression on them when I had met them for that wedding.
That was the first night I felt Claire’s lips on mine. The first time I wrapped my hands around her waist, felt her skin under my palm from her backless dress.
I decided to surprise her, just like I did the first time I showed up—unannounced and uninvited. That had turned out pretty damn well for me. I could still remember the feeling of her soft body pressed next to mine on that cloudlike bed.
My phone rang out over my truck’s speakers. My heart beat faster, and for a moment, I thought it would be Claire. Until Wyatt’s name flashed on my display screen.
“What?” I answered.
“You need to turn around and get back here.”
What the hell? I never once tried to stop him and Maeve from being together. Now, they were getting married. She was having their second child. The adoption for Jane wasright around the corner. He had his own full, happy life. He didn’t need to insert himself into mine. I knew what I was doing. Was it a little crazy? Sure. But what love story didn’t start with a dash of crazy and a whole lot of faith?
“I’m not turning around, Wyatt. I was serious. I’m leaving.”
“It’s important, brother. Just get back to your house.”
He hung up before I could say anything else.
I’d just left my house an hour ago. It was fine. If I turned around now, it would set me back another two hours.
