Page 6 of Endurance

I blinked, pausing to soak in his words. Quinn & Wilkshire never had a client who required that kind of time commitment, as far as I could recall.

“Why so long?”

“Milo worked out some deal with a charity out there called Corporate Cares. It involves working with foster kids over the span of a few months, and Milo is terrified Atwood will screw it up. I’ll email you the file after we hang up so you can see why. You’ll need to be Atwood’s shadow. When he eats, you eat. When he sleeps, you sleep. When he shits—”

“I get the picture, Dad,” I said and rolled my eyes. “Six months is a long time, though. I’ll need to talk to Dean.”

“Of course.”

“When do you need to know by?”

He hesitated again.

“Tomorrow morning at the latest. If you say yes, I’ll have our travel coordinator get you on plane by late afternoon or early evening.”

I puffed out a breath. Twenty-four hours to decide on a cross-country move wasn’t very long, even if it was temporary. However, I knew my father. Fitzgerald Quinn would never ask this of one of his associates if it wasn’t necessary. There was also the big fat carrot he’d dangled. The bonus was a definite perk, but fast-track to partner was something Quinn & Wilkshire never offered—especially to anyone who was a friend or family member. Nepotism was frowned upon and taken very seriously. Considering his firm belief in starting at the bottom and working your way up, I knew this must be bigger than he was letting on.

Financially, this was huge for me. While my parents had paid for my undergrad, I was on the hook for graduate school. The twenty thousand dollar bonus would more than cover my remaining loans. Plus, if they made me a partner at the firm, the raise I’d receive would ease the financial burden I was currently facing with my hefty mortgage. The townhouse in I’d purchased in Georgetown didn’t come cheap, and my bank account could prove it.

“Let me take the night to decide. I’ll let you know in the morning,” I eventually said.

After ending the call, I went back into the living room. Gabby was channel surfing, and Austin was, once again, sprawled across the entire couch. Rather than push his legs aside again, I took a seat on the floor and threw back the rest of my wine in one long swig.

Gabby eyed me curiously. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“I’m not sure yet. My dad wants me to go to California for six months.”

“Kallie’s going to Cali,” Austin said with a laugh. “Nice.”

“You’re such a turd,” I said and tossed a throw pillow at him. “Add this to the list of decisions I need to make. Adulting sucks. I miss our college days when my biggest decision was which class to register for.”

“I’m assuming this is a work thing,” Gabby absently remarked, and she continued to flip through the channels on the television.

“Yeah, some race car—oh, wait!” I sat up straight and pointed to the TV. “Back up to the last channel. I love that movie!”

Gabby clicked the remote untilSingin’ In The Rainwas on the screen.

“Aww, come on! It’s bad enough you fed me tofu for dinner. Don’t make me sit through a chick flick,” Austin complained.

“This is a classic, Austin. Besides, our parents fell in love at summer camp while putting on this production. You have to love it because of that.”

“Yeah, I know the story. Dad loves to tell it every year on your birthday,” he grumbled.

“Hush!” I waved him off. “This is my favorite part.”

The three of us fell silent just in time to hear Don Lockwood say, “You sure look lovely in the moonlight, Kathy.” He’d just finished setting the stage—quite literally—to create a romantic atmosphere so he could profess his love to her in a song.

As he sang the romantic ballad and stared adoringly into the eyes of his beloved, a feeling of melancholy settled over me. Dean never looked at me the way Don Lockwood was looking at Kathy Seldon. I knew it was just a movie, and actors were supposed to be convincing, but still… The song lyrics came from somebody’s real-life experience—an experience I wanted to have. If truth be told, I didn’t have that kind of chemistry with Dean.

I thought back to Gabby’s question.

“Do you love him?”

Undoubtedly, the answer was yes. However, what Dean and I shared wasn’t anything like what I witnessed on the television screen. While I knew not everything could be like it was in the movies, I still knew what true, undying love looked like. I’d had a front-row seat to it for years with my parents. After a seventeen-year separation, their love never faded. My baby sister in the next room was proof of it. But with Dean, I’d always felt like something was missing between us. There were no gentle touches or furtive glances. The new relationship flutters of excitement had long since disappeared. There was no anticipation because Dean was always predictable. He was practical, and he was safe. I may have loved him, but I wasn’t convinced I wanted to settle for safe.

That’s why I told him I needed to think about his proposal. I didn’t know what was more important to me—the relationship security Dean would surely provide or the idea of being swept up in song and dance with the person I loved. I wanted both, but I wasn’t sure if that was asking for too much.

As I continued to listen to Don Lockwood sing about how his beloved was meant for him, I asked myself if the same was true for me.

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