Page 13 of Sacrifice
He’d enjoy every single second, too.
He presses his hand against the small of my back, guiding me into the bar.
There are booths lining the wall, a dancefloor in the center with the bar along the back. It gives off a rustic feel with dark wood beams and iron detail throughout.
“You want to sit at the bar, or we can grab a booth?” he asks.
The way his eyes drink me in and the pull I feel between us draws me closer to him. I’ve never felt so beautiful from one look alone. It’s given me a confidence I hadn’t realized I had lost.
Maybe lost wasn’t the right word, but it had gone away for a while. But something about Corbin has brought it back.
His finger rubs along my spine. The warmth of his hand makes it hard to focus on anything else.
“Let’s do a booth.”
The bar is mostly empty. It will give us time to talk before Makenna and Alex arrived.
He nods, hollering to the bartender we are claiming our spot. They must know each other when he returns, giving him a mock salute.
I expected him to take the seat across from me, especially with it being the two of us here. When I slide into the booth, he mutters, “nuh uh,” under his breath and motions for me to scoot over.
I turn my body sideways with my back pressed against the wall to face Corbin. He settles into the seat, slipping his arm behind me.
“Ahh, this is better.” He winks, rubbing his thumb along my shoulder. “Although I wouldn’t mind if you decided to curl up against my side instead.”
I narrow my eyes at him playfully and he shrugs, as if to say, “it was worth the shot.”
“Why’d you decide to move and settle down in Arbor Creek?”
There are a few different directions this conversation could take. If he’s as interested as he seems to be, I might as well shoot him straight. I half expected him to pull back when I brought up Huxton when we were talking after the photoshoot, but if anything, he only seemed more interested.
In fact, I was surprised and relieved when he encouraged me to bring him to their next Friends Night.
“I grew up living in Chicago until I was nineteen years old when I got engaged to Huxton’s father. He was starting a business in Everton, so moving back and being close to my family seemed like the right decision.”
He listens intently. If the mention of Atlas bothered him, he never lets it show.
“We separated about three months ago. I was staying with my mom for a bit, you know, getting back on my feet. When I started looking for a place of our own, it seemed like the right choice to stay close by.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says, clearing his throat. “About the separation. We never go into relationships, especially marriage, wanting it to end. I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for you.”
A weight lifts from my chest, like a heavy sigh of relief at his understanding. He made it so easy to open up to him.
“Looking back, even before we got married, I saw signs it wasn’t going to last. Red flags I chose to ignore. My father wasn’t around growing up. He had passed away before I was born.”
“Damn,” he mutters under his breath. Corbin adjusts himself in his seat, taking everything in before he turns back to me. He moves his arm between the two of us, reaching for my hand. I tangle my fingers in his, needing the lifeline.
“It was hard growing up without a father. I can’t imagine how different my life would be if he had been here.”
I’ve thought about it a million times leading up to and since our separation.
What if I had clung to my connection with Atlas for the wrong reasons? Did I stay with him because I loved him, or was it because I didn’t want Huxton to be without his father, too?
“In the end, I wanted to make it work for our family. It took a while before I finally accepted it wasn’t going to work out, no matter how hard I tried. It’s better this way.” I blink back the tears, recalling the conversation I had with Huxton before he left with his dad. “I truly believe it’s better this way.”
“I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to pack up and essentially start over. It says so much about you and the woman you are.”
“It’s taken time to adjust to being alone. The nights when Huxton is with his dad are hard.” Corbin squeezes my hand in his. “Now that I’ve started to get to know people here and made friends, it’s helping though. I’m not going to say it’s gotten easier, but it’s certainly brought light to a dark time.”
