Page 35 of When You're Gone
“Ididn’t know that.”
Her words cut through all the hopefulness he’d let himself grasp for on the ride home. “What didn’t you know?”
“I mean, I didn’t realize…” She huffed out a sigh of frustration. “There’s no way for me to explain myself without sounding bratty and selfish. Especially given the situation. But you being the CEO of NorfolkStar wasn’t on my radar right now. I didn’t think it would happen anytime soon. In my mind, it was a someday thing. It was something we would talk about and figure out together when the time came. But here we are. I’ve been sitting in this apartment by myself all afternoon, trying to figure out how I got here without realizing this was where I was headed. I’m just… I’m just trying to make sense of where I fit in. Of what I need to do next.”
He felt his heart stutter in his chest as she finished her monologue.Holy shit.That was a lot. He didn’t dare try to push back when she was this worked up.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said cautiously. “I know it’s a lot. I feel it, too. We don’t have to rush into anything though. Nothing has to change right away.”
“Don’t,” she insisted, releasing the wooden spoon and letting it slump into the pan. “Don’t try to be understanding. I know I’m being unreasonable, but I just can’t push down these feelings.”
“Come here.” He reached out for her and wrapped her in his arms, smoothing down her hair and holding her close. “You don’t have to be okay with the uncertainty. Just be okay with the fact that we’ll get through this.”
She let him hold her, and he felt her go soft in his arms. He hadn’t been prepared for her to react like that… but she had several valid points. Time and time again he’d told her that there was no rush for her to move to Virginia… that he could be patient… that they would do long distance for as long as she needed. But that was before. The situation with his granddad… the opportunity in front of him… this changed things. This changed everything. He rested his chin on the top of her head and exhaled. He barely heard the words she muttered into his chest.
“I have to move to Virginia.”
“Someday,” he offered reassuringly.
“You won’t be able to do back and forth like we’ve been doing now that you’re CEO,” she asserted, almost accusingly. “I have to move to Virginia,” she repeated. She moved to swipe away a tear with the heel of her hand.
His gut twisted. He had no idea what to say to temper her reaction or help calm her nerves. She was his wife. Of course he wanted her here with him.
“V—” he started, not even sure how to comfort her. He felt jilted from the highs and lows of the day.
“It’s fine, I’m fine,” she insisted. “I’m not sad. I don’t even know why I’m crying. I’m just so frustrated with everything changing and shifting around me while I’m barely holding on.”
Her words felt more like a confession than an accusation. And yet he was too afraid to push her when they were both reeling from the events of the last twenty-four hours.
He pulled her back into a hug and held her as she cried. He didn’t know what else to do. He didn’t know what the hell to say. She was right—this was his path forward—their path forward. This was where it was always heading, even if things were happening faster than they expected. He just had to hope she still wanted to come along for the ride.
It wasn’t until the acrid smell of burnt risotto hit his nose that he finally let her go.
Chapter twelve
Tori
Shetuggedatthecrossover panel of her wrap dress, feeling overexposed as she sat next to Rhett’s assistant in the front row. This was one of four formal outfits she had discovered in the bag Rhett had packed for her. She would never have even thought to bring something dressy. The fact that he had known she’d need business attire just reinforced how perfectly suited he was for this role.
Her steady, competent golden boy. He had spent the last few days in a flurry of meetings while she did everything she could think of to support him. She had been getting up with him before work to sip coffee and enjoy the quiet before the day took them by storm. They worked out together in the apartment complex gym on his lunch break, then Rhett came home and had dinner with her each evening. But he’d had to go back to the office after dinner the last two nights, so although they were together as often as possible, she was still alone most of the day.
The room buzzed with people chatting, shaking hands, and talking in hushed tones. Rhett’s assistant, Quinn, had not one, but two phones on his lap, and he was flipping between them as he checked messages on one and followed some sort of real-time chart on the other. He hadn’t even looked up when she offered to grab him a coffee or tea from the refreshment tables in the back of the conference room.
Her phone vibrated in her wristlet—another accessory packed by her husband, unbeknownst to her. He really had thought of everything. She pulled it out to check her notifications.
Jake: Morning, baby. How are you? How’s our boy?
She smiled and glanced at the time—it was almost eleven. It might be morning to Jake, but she and Rhett had been up for hours. Jake had messaged her several times since they arrived in Virginia three days ago. She was grateful for his check-ins—for that little connection to home.
Tori: Good morning, lazy bones. I’m okay. He’s good—super focused and in CEO-mode today. I’m currently sitting next to his robot assistant at a press conference where he’s about to be introduced as the new crown prince of Virginia.
Jake: A real press conference? Like, with a podium and microphones and shit?
Tori: Yep.
Jake: Pics or it didn’t happen.
She looked around quickly to confirm no one was paying her any attention. She lifted her phone to take a picture of the stage, then another of all the photographers lined up in the row across the aisle. She flipped the camera and took a selfie, angling it so she got the all-too-serious Quinn in the picture, too.
