Not…touching him.
When he finally crawls back into bed, reality has settled over both of us like a heavy fog.
And this time, he keeps his distance.
For some reason, that confuses me more than I care to admit.
Because I should be relieved.
I should be grateful that he’s respecting the invisible boundary between us.
But as I stare into the dark, painfully aware of the space between us, all I can think is—
Why does it feel like he’s further away than ever?
Chapter Sixteen
Corbin
On rare occasions, I have to fly out of town for a client meeting. Today is one of those rare occasions.
I zip up my suitcase and exhale slowly.
Three days. Not a lifetime, but long enough to feel like one. I hate being away from Tate for more than two days, and knowing I won’t see him until the end of the week doesn’t sit right with me. But this is my biggest account, and if I want to walk away from my dad’s company, I can’t afford to lose them.
If I worked for myself, I’d have more time for Tate. More control. More freedom.
More time to figure out what the hell I’m doing with Jules.
She told me she was going to paint while she processed everything between us, but she also made it clear she’s going to start dating eventually.Eventuallyis a ticking clock, and I don’t like the idea of running out of time.
Last week, when she curled into me in bed after Tate was sick, I knew—knew—that I would never crave anyone the way I crave her. Now I understand why I’ve never been able to move on. She still has all of me, completely.And the worst part? I don’t even mind.
But just because we want each other doesn’t mean we’ll work. We tried before. We failed. And my dad? He’s the biggestobstacle between us. If I removed him from the equation, then it’s just Jules and me standing in our own way.
I run a hand through my hair, tugging at the ends as frustration creeps in. I’ve never been great at fighting for things. If something felt too hard, I walked away. I let it go. I told myself it wasn’t worth it.
But this is Jules.
A few days apart might be a good thing.Maybe distance will help me figure out exactly what it is I want.
I hurry down the stairs, my mind already on the airport, when I stop short.
Tate’s jacket hangs on the coat rack in the entryway.
It’s fine. He doesn’t need it.He has a million coats. It’s not like he’s going to freeze without this one.
But I could stop by the coffee shop and drop it off to Jules. Just in case.
What if he needs this exact jacket and he doesn’t have it?
It’s a split-second decision. I grab the jacket, lock the door behind me, and head for the car.
By the time I pull out of the driveway, I know the truth.
The jacket could’ve waited three days. I just didn’t want to.
I’m on autopilot as I drive to the coffee shop. I dropped Tate off at school this morning after we had a big breakfast together. He had a hard time saying goodbye, but I promised to bring him something back from my trip, and that seemed to do the trick. We hugged for a long time before Leo hollered for him from the playground.
