Page 90 of On the Line

“Even though everything about that house reminds me of Jameson, not Josh.”

“Ahh,” she says with a knowing smile. “I wondered.”

“Wondered?”

“When he called me, he wanted to make sure I didn’t own the house or have any money tied up in it. He said it was because he’d been the executor on the will and trust, and wanted to make sure he hadn’t made any mistakes. But it felt like he was trying to protectyou, not the property.”

My lips turn up at one corner because that sounds exactly like Jameson.

“I wondered if you two were together,” Sophia continues. “I’m happy for you. Really. I hope he treats you better than Josh did.”

“You know what,” I say, “it’s like night and day different. Now I know what it’s like to really be loved.”

He hasn’t said those words to me, but he doesn’t need to. He shows me in everything he does.

“Good,” she says. “I hope someday that happens for me, because I think I deserve it after putting up with Josh.”

I laugh so hard at that, I almost cry—not because it’s that funny, but because it is so relatable. “You sure as hell do,” I tell her when I get control of myself, “just, not with Jameson, please.”

We laugh together, and it feels like the absolute most perfectfuck youto send out into the universe. I hope that, in whatever capacity Josh’s spirit still exists, he knows that he didn’t break us, and that we’re both stronger for having lived through his lies.

“I have to get going,” I say as I glance at my watch. I told Morgan I’d be home an hour from now, and I still need to go see Jameson.

“Is it weird if I say that I’m glad we met?” Sophia asks.

“If you’d asked me that yesterday, my answer would have been very different. But now, I’m glad we met too. I think it’s good for both of us to recognize that just because he lied to us, it doesn’t mean we’re not worthy of something better.”

“And also, I think this meeting confirms that despite hismanyflaws, he had exceptional taste in women,” Sophia says.

“He sure did. Hey,” I add as I hop off my stool and slip on my jacket, “Jameson told me what your job is. I work in marketing for the Rebels. I feel like there’s a good chance our paths may cross again, given that your company is one of our newest sponsors.”

Her shoulders shake with a silent laugh. “I’m pretty sure I have a meeting with the whole Rebels marketing team on my calendar for next week.”

“I guess I’ll be seeing you again soon, then,” I tell her.

I walk out of that restaurant feeling like a hundred pound weight has been lifted from me—but I realize that it wasn’t weight at all, it was pressure ... the pressure to love the memory of Josh even though he wasn’t a good husband, and to mourn him even though I don’t miss him anymore. I’d been putting so much pressure on myself, and now I feel like I can breathe again. I feel free.

CHAPTER26

JAMESON

I swing the back door open a little too fast, and it ricochets off the door stop and flies back at my face. Luckily, I catch it in time, because I already have one fading black eye and a newly split chin—I don’t need to look even more beat-up when I see Lauren.

“Where is she?” I ask Jules, who’s standing at the kitchen sink looking at me like I’ve just broken into her house. I’ll admit I came in a bit too quickly in my haste.

“I assume you mean Lauren?”

“Yeah, her car’s outside.” It’s parked right where Jules’s truck normally sits.

“She dropped her car off here, then walked over to Newbury Street to meet Sophia. I gave her my spot and parked my truck on the street.”

My chest deflates with disappointment, even though it’s probably best that I have a minute to collect myself—my emotions are all over the place, and my thoughts are running wild as I worry about how this meeting will go, and whether Josh’s infidelity will make Lauren afraid to trust me in the future.

Once I’m upstairs, I glance around, imagining how she’ll see my place for the first time. It’s monochromatic and sparse—exactly how you’d expect a bachelor pad to look. It’s nothing like the warm and inviting space she’s created in her house. After spending so much time there lately, my place feels kind of ... cold. Lonely. Most of that is probably because she’s not here. She has a way of bringing warmth with her wherever she goes.

I’ve just changed out of my suit and thrown on jeans and a fitted Henley when I hear a knock on my door. And when I open it, Lauren’s standing there staring at me like she’s never seen me before. Then she smiles.

“I’m so used to seeing you in a suit,” she says, “that sometimes I forget how good you look when you’re casual like this too.”

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