Page 80 of Hard To Leave

So much for keeping this conversation private.

Eric, the lineman from up North, got up from his seat and marched toward me. His eyes narrowed on both men. “Everything okay, Chloe?” he asked with concern catching at the end of his voice.

He folded his arms across his chest. Eric was huge and looked like he was made of solid muscle. There was no doubt that he would step in and protect me if he thought I needed it. He was a good guy like that.

“I’m fine, Eric,” I reassured him when I really wanted to tell him that this was a mess of my own making. “Thank you for the concern though.”

He lips turned into a frown. “Okay,” he relented. “I’ll be right over there if you need me.” He shot the men one last look and walked back toward his table.

I reached for Jack’s arm, and it cut me deep when he pulled away. “Give me a minute!” he snapped.

I needed him to understand that this didn’t have to change anything between us. I loved him more than I ever thought I could. I’m not sure how I would survive if I lost him. Not now. Not after everything we’ve been through.

I gripped his shirt, “Jack, please. I want to explain everything to you, but right now I really need to talk to Brogan. I don’t want you to leave, I…” God, I don’t know what the hell I wanted. This is all too much for me. I needed to talk to Brogan first. I owed him that much. “Whatever happens? This doesn’t have to change anything.”

“This fucking changes everything.” His eyes shot to the ceiling, and I watched the thick roll of his throat. His face pinched in pain. “I need to get the fuck out of here.” He shrugged out of my arms and bolted out the door. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, trying to get my tears under control as I watched the man I loved walk out of my life.

Brogan cleared his throat and grabbed my elbow. He spun me around to face him. “Get your shit, tell your boss you're done for the day and let’s get somewhere where we can have a more private conversation. You have a lot of fucking explaining to do, and we are going to play catch up right now!”

Ree, who was standing off to the side, took a hesitant step forward and handed me my purse. “Go ahead, sweetie. I’ll tell Tanner you had to run a few errands. I’ll keep him busy.” She ran her hands down my arm, trying to soothe my pain away. “It will be fine. Don’t worry. Things have a way of sorting themselves our one way or another.”

I peeked through the door to see Tanner laughing at something Kristen was telling him. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then followed Brogan out the door.

---