I smiled.“I believe you.Thanks, Brian.”
“You’re welcome.I’m glad you came to me.Have a good time on vacation.Come back rested and ready to work.”
I laughed and rose from my chair.“I will.”
I went home and packed, my soul lighter and feeling as if one door had closed, leaving another open.I still didn’t know what I was going to do about James, but all I wanted was to hug my girlfriends, have a Sex on the Beach, and talk it out.
Chapter Nineteen
JAMES
I’d lost her.
How long had I stayed in my apartment, waiting for some miracle?Waiting for her to come back to me, declare her love, and tell me she wanted to start over?
I realized again I’d made her my world, and then destroyed her.I had no friends, no family, and no career.Sinking into the depths of depression, I heard Brian’s words in my head, over and over.
You’re going to break her heart.
And I had.But as the clock ticked, I came to another surprising truth, and an odd strength began to unfurl deep in my gut.
Quinn loved me, but I needed to get my shit together.
Quinn thought I was deserving and talented, so I needed to believe in myself, too.
I thought over my choices.About how much I loved art, and how Ava had screwed me up, and what I could do about it.About my wrong choices, and how I needed to make a stand to show Quinn I was the man she needed me to be.Yeah, it was gonna be messy, but at least I’d be telling the truth and trying to move forward.
It really wasn’t about Brian at all.Or even Ava.It was about my own insecurities, and confusion, and crap.It was about believing and trusting in Quinn and her love for me.
Time to deal with it.
I made the call.Got a meeting with the Dean for 2:00 p.m.I gathered up all my work since the year had started then headed into The Brush Institute.
First, I’d take care of business.
Then I’d go after her.
Chapter Twenty
QUINN
“I can’t believe five days have gone by already,” Mac sighed, her familiar wide-brimmed hat hiding her from the sun.
“It’s been a hell of a week,” Cassie sighed, sipping her own fruit concoction.We had all carved out a few hours to sip cocktails in the sun and enjoy the last of our freedom before our final night.
How different this trip was from last year.Yes, we still sipped our Sex on the Beach drinks, and lay in the sun, and teased and laughed with each other.Yes, Mac was still a huge country star hidden behind a stylish hat, and Cassie was still serious and involved in another dangerous case since she’d testified a week ago at trial.
But James wasn’t here.It had nothing to do with the yacht, or his mansion, or the wild parties.I missed him so bad, my body wept with the pain.His smile, his touch, his laugh.I missed the way he used to put his hand at the small of my back when we walked together, in protection and possession.I missed the way he knew I hated beer, and liked things tidy, and needed to help others in order to feel whole.I loved the way he held me in his arms, with all the rough passion I needed to be completely alive.I loved who I was when I was with him.
Mac peered at me from under the shadowed brim.“You miss him.”
I laughed.They knew me best.When I’d first arrived and told them everything, they’d cursed James and vowed to kill him.It was only later, when I discussed how the last six months had developed between us, telling them about Brian and what Ava had done, that they began to understand, and grudgingly told me if I forgave James, they would, too.
“Yeah.”
Cassie gave me a searching look.“You’re ready to forgive him, aren’t you?”
Slowly, I nodded.I had needed the time away to see what life was like without James.And I realized something else.I could live without him.I was strong, capable, and would find love again.
