Page 96 of A Love Like That

“You want some wine?” She lifted a bottle from the ground.

“Yeah, actually. I would.”

“Well, at least you won’t have to deal with her much longer,” Harper said, pouring me a glass.

“Thanks.” I accepted it from her. “And yeah. You’re right,” I sighed. But that meant I wouldn’t get to see Tristan and the kids every day either.

I kept thinking back on dinner and how he’d asked me to stay. How badly I wanted to stay, and not just for the summer. But I had a feeling he wasn’t referring to more than that.

She lifted her glass for a toast. “To new adventures.”

“To new adventures.” I smiled and took a sip, though it tasted bittersweet. I was about to go on a big adventure, and yet I’d be leaving my heart behind.

“How was orientation?” she asked.

Harper had been the most interested in my progress with the JET Program, apart from Tristan. Considering her love of travel, it wasn’t surprising. She’d been to Japan years ago, when she was still working as a film location scout. But never to Naruto, Tokushima. I couldn’t imagine many people would willingly travel there. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’d belivingthere.

I’d asked to be placed in one of the northern locations, yet I’d gotten the exact opposite. So instead of my dreams of snowboarding and wearing hoodies, I’d be sweating on an island. A hot island that no one visited.

Even so, it had one thing going for it. It was far away from my mom. Unfortunately, that meant it was also far away from Tristan and the kids.

I wouldn’t be here for their first day of school. Nor their birthdays or so many other moments. My chest ached at the realization of all that I would miss out on. At the idea of just how badly I would miss Tristan.

“Ellie?” Harper asked.

“Hmm?” I slid my gaze to her.

“I asked how orientation was.”

“Oh.” I cleared my throat and tucked my leg beneath me. “Yeah. It was good.”

“I’m sure you’re feeling both excited and nervous.” Her smile was kind, understanding.

I laughed. “You can say that again.”

Though lately, my nerves were winning out. I was second-guessing myself a lot. Was I doing the right thing? Would the kids be okay after I left? Would Tristan?

“I know you’re going to be busy, but Enzo and I talked about it, and we’d love to hire you as a content creation consultant for Fall River Estates.”

I jerked my head back. “Really?”

I was flattered. I’d never imagined that helping occasionally would turn into a more permanent, paying job.

“Yeah.” She smiled. “You’re really talented, and we’ve definitely seen an increase in sales since implementing your tips.”

“That’s great, but…”

She waved a hand through the air. “Just think about it for now, ’kay? I could upload photos to a shared drive each month, and you could create content from them.”

I nodded. “Okay. I just…” I sighed. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m not sure when I’ll be coming back to the AV.”

“I know, though I hope you’ll come back before too long. It’s funny,” she mused. “I never imagined I’d end up living in the AV. I mean, in the back of my mind, I always wanted to settle down one day and have a family here. But I spent so many years traveling and living in LA that I figured I was past that.”

“And then you met Enzo,” I said with a smile.

“And then I met Enzo.” She grinned. “And that was…whew. That was a whole different adventure.”

I laughed, knowing bits and pieces of their story. How they’d started as a vacation fling. How she’d had no idea he was an internationally famous soccer star until after she realized she was pregnant with Aiden.

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