Page 137 of Can't Get Over You
As he dashed back out to the living room, he found her at the top of the stairs. He’d never seen her so wrecked. “Sweetheart.” She stood there with red-rimmed eyes, hair in a pile on top of her head, and her sleeves pushed up to her elbows. He took the stairs three at a time, reaching for her the moment he got to the top.
But she reared back, holding her hands out to ward him off.
“What happened?” Again, his mind scrambled across the past day and a half. He was missing some key thing, but he couldn’t seem to think straight.
“Nothing.” She wouldn’t look at him.
“Finlay, for God’s sake, talk to me. This is your house on Bloom Lane. You can’t sell it. What did I do?” he roared.
His panicked tone seemed to snap her out of her fog. “It’s not about you. It’s me.” Dodging him, she started down the stairs. “I can’t have a fresh start by living here.”
Okay, good. It’s not about me. I didn’t fuck up.“That’s fine. We can move into my dad’s place.” He didn’t care where they lived. As long as they were together, what did it matter?
When she reached the bottom, she turned to him, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m moving in with my mom.”
“Like hell you are. That’s the last place you want to be.”
“It’s not ideal, but my realtor thinks she’s already got a buyer. It won’t be forever. As soon as I get my money out, I’ll find another place to live.”
“And where will Cody sleep? On the floor? In a sleeping bag?” Because he was not going to focus on the part of the sentence that didn’t include him.
Confusion crossed her features. But the moment awareness struck, her shoulders pushed back. “I think it’s best if the two of you go to your dad’s.”
“Wait, you’re getting rid of me, too?” The axis of his world tipped, then spun. He couldn’t seem to get his bearings.I’ve lost her?
“Jude, please. This is so hard for me.”
“Hard foryou?” Urgency sharpened his mind. He had to get through to her. “Finlay, I love you. I’ve never…I’m notevergoing to love anyone else. You’re it for me. So don’t tell me it’s hard foryouto dumpme. If you do this, if you walk away, I will never be the same. Do you understand that?”
Tears spilled down her cheeks, and her shoulders curved in. “Please stop. Please.”
“It was easy to want you when I was a kid because it was from a distance. But now? Now, I know you. I know how you like your coffee and what temperature you like when you shower. I know the song you hum when you’re baking. I know your heart and mind…I know your soul. And that makes me the luckiest man in the fucking world. Don’t do this. Do not break up with me.”
“I know it’s awful, but I have to, Jude. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“I’ll tell you what you don’t do. You don’t throw us away. You come to me, and we’ll handle it together. Sell the house, I don’t care. We can live in a camper on the side of the road, and I won’t care. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.”
“I can’t do that. If I stay with you, I’ll never know if I’m hiding in your problems instead of handling my own. I’ll never know if you love me because of our situation. You always ran from me when things got intense with us, but now, you have no choice but to stay. For Cody’s sake. Do you see that I need time to sort it all out?”
Of course he did. He’d been saying it all along. “Yes.” Which meant he had to let her go. But he stood there, frozen, terrified that if he broke the connection, he’d never see her again. He’d lose her for good. “Okay. I’ll go. I’ll give you…” His mind blanked out, so he resorted to action. He grabbed some of the garbage bags and tossed them into the back of his truck. He loaded theboxes. His heart raced, and perspiration dripped down his back. When he finished, he turned to her. “What do I tell Cody?”
She stood on the porch watching him with the same anguish he felt—as ifhewas leavingher.“You paid for me, right? I’m still your nanny.”
The money.Reality flipped like a coin, tails turning to heads. “Oh shit.Fuck, no. That’s not what I meant. I was trying to pamper you. I wanted you to feel special. Loved.”
“Let’s not get into it right now. I’m not thinking clearly.”
“Okay, okay. We don’t have to talk about anything. But it’s not over, right? We’re only taking time apart?”
“Yes. That’s right. I just need…time. If we’re truly meant to be?—”
“We are truly meant for each other, and I’ll prove it by giving you this space.” He got into the truck.
She stepped off the porch. “You’ll get your money back.”
“I don’t want it.”
“And I’ll put the furniture in storage until your dad tells me where to put it.”
