Page 88 of Bonus Daddy
“No.” Cal tossed a mini basketball into the air and caught it. “You can’t just stomp around this building all day and night, growling at everyone. You’ve got to tell her how you feel.”
Sully nodded. “Sloane said she’d smother you with a maple-scented pillow in your sleep if you didn’t stop snapping at us.”
Sloane smiled at him, hearts in her eyes.
“You’ve got to do something,” Sully said. “Make the gesture. Take the leap. Learn from me, mate. It’s worth it.”
He put his arm around his wife and kissed the top of her head.
That’s when it hit me.
I only had one shot at this. The two of them had almost gotten divorced, for fuck’s sake. They’d been dangerously close to losing one another because they’d both been stubborn. And here I was, sitting in my office, having a nervous breakdown.
“I need to go to Vermont,” I said.
My friends gave me looks that ranged from curious to smug.
Now that I’d put the words out there, it was as if a lightbulb had turned on. I needed to go to Vermont and see Jess.
Despite the complex situation I was in, this was simple.
“When?”
“Now,” I replied, logging off and powering down my computer. “I’m going now.”
“It’s eleven p.m.”
“So?” I plucked my briefcase off the floor and confirmed that my laptop and charger were inside it. “I’ve got a tank of gas and some feelings to work through.”
“Do you need company?” Cal asked. “We can come along for the ride.”
I shook my head. “Nah. The solitude will do me good.”
“I’ll pack snacks for you,” Sloane said, slipping into mom mode, “And brew some coffee.”
“I’ll clear your calendar for the rest of the week,” Lo chimed in.
“You should propose,” Cal quipped.
Sloane and Lo shot him matching dirty looks.
“May want to be a bit more subtle.” Sully glowered at his brother, then focused on me, brow arched. “When are you coming back?”
“I don’t know.” And I wasn’t sure I cared. If Jess was in Vermont. I wanted to be in Vermont. End of story. In this moment, nothing else mattered.
I climbed the steps two at a time and packed a bag, my mind totally clear. With my toothbrush and toiletries packed, I said goodbye to the cat. Then I headed for the car.
For the first time in as long as I could remember, as I strode across the parking lot, my thoughts weren’t racing. My objective was clear.
I had to go get my girl.
It wasn’tuntil I’d crossed the GW Bridge that I realized I didn’t know where I was going. Luckily, when I called Lo, I discovered that she was ten steps ahead of me. She texted the address of Jess’s family farm, and once I clickedGoon the GPS, a wave of relief hit me. I’d head there and then figure the rest out. It was the middle of the night, so traffic was nonexistent, and as Ireached the town of Maplewood, Vermont, the sun was beginning to rise.
This place was charming as hell. Everywhere I looked, I found picture-perfect rolling hills and farmland, flanked by green mountains and a vast, cloudless sky.
Since it was only five, I stopped in town for coffee and to stretch my legs. I’d visited the farm once during the summer between my junior and senior years of college but didn’t remember much about the town itself.
In the early morning light, when the only sounds were the wind rustling in nearby trees and birdsong, it was like walking onto a movie set. The downtown area looked like the definition of New England, with cobblestone sidewalks, Revolutionary War monuments, colorful shops, and impeccable landscaping.
