Page 78 of From Ice to Home
The question catches me off guard. I glance toward Lucas who keeps his features steady, but I don’t miss the way his jaw tightens. We haven’t really discussed this yet. I haven’t gotten around to telling him about the job offer I accepted before I went to Vegas.
“Well, like you said, this is all very new and sudden. We’ve had to face some big changes and there are a few more things we still need to navigate. But it’s definitely something we’ll tackle together,” I say, hoping she believes me because it’s the absolute truth of the matter.
She smiles, looking between me and Lucas, nodding. “Well,thank you both so much for your time. I know the fans will want to know more about you moving forward.”
She stands up and extends her hand to both me and Lucas before turning to Harry, asking for the next player to sit for an interview. Harry nods, the serious expression on his face not relenting for a second before he calls Declan closer.
I exhale, running my fingers through my hair before stealing a glance at Lucas. His jaw is still tight as he gently puts his hand on my lower back, guiding me from the interview spot back toward the main restaurant area. His teammates have all taken their seats, celebrating and enjoying their food. Lucas leads me to the bar, ordering me a glass of champagne and a glass of water for himself.
He doesn’t look at me as we wait for the bartender to finish pouring our drinks but it’s clear his mind is whirring with what he just found out—from someone that isn’t me. It should’ve come from me, I should’ve been the one to tell him about the job.
“Lucas—“ I touch his arm gently, and he turns to face me, his brows knitting together.
“When were you planning on telling me about this job offer?” he asks. His voice is filled with hurt, but no accusation.
Guilt forms in my stomach as I try to find the reason why I didn’t tell him about the job immediately. Lucas accepts our drinks from the bartender before handing me the glass of champagne. Taking a sip of my drink, the taste reminds me of that night in Vegas when he set a glass down in front of me. Right at that moment, my entire life changed. Everything that happened before that moment, no longer mattered, or at least, it couldn’t compare to the man that walked back into my life and what that meant.
“We’ve barely had time together, Luke,” I say, looking up into his eyes. “Plus, I don’t even know why I didn’t bring it up. It just hasn’t felt like the most important thing to deal with. Ithonestly hasn’t crossed my mind that much. So, maybe I’ve already decided what to do about it and a discussion wasn’t even necessary.”
He frowns, looking at me for a second like he’s trying to figure out if I’m being serious. “How can you say that? Head Counsellor? Hannah, that’s not something small. That’s a great position, no doubt one you’ve been working toward—” Realization hits. “It’s the job you spoke about when we were in Vegas. It’s why you were there celebrating.”
I shrug, unable to meet his gaze.
“Am I right?” he asks.
“You are.” I turn away from him, taking another sip of my champagne. “But it’s not that simple any more. Before Vegas, I was set on taking the job, no doubt about it. They’ve sent over the contracts and I just need to sign to finalize. But then I saw you in Vegas…” I say, looking up into his eyes. “Everything changed, Lucas, and you can’t stand there and tell me otherwise.”
Something shifts in his eyes. He swallows, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Everything changed, yes. But Hannah, if giving up this opportunity is going to cause you to resent me later on…you should rather take the job.”
I shake my head, the excitement I had over this job hasn’t been stirring in me since I married Lucas. It hasn’t even been on my mind, not the way it was before Vegas, and that should tell me how I really feel about this offer. Or at least how my feelings about it have changed.
“We said we’re going to give this marriage our all, Luke, and I meant that.”
I look at the man standing next to me. It’s a gift from God to have him in my life again. We’ve made a mess of a lot of things…getting married in Vegas, not telling our families, me running from him…but I’m not going to make this mistake too.
“And we can do that,” Lucas says with determination written across his face. “Even if you take this job. We’ll make this work.”
“Of course we’ll make it work, but why should we have to put ourselves, or our marriage, through something so difficult?”
He almost looks a bit offended. “Do you think we’re not strong enough to deal with distance? Or challenges?”
I sigh, taking a sip of my champagne, gathering my thoughts and trying to get the right words together.
“That’s not what I’m saying at all. It’s just that with your schedule it’s already going to be hard. We won’t be able to see each other as it is. Add to that the fact that I’ll be the Head Counsellor, not only seeing my own clients but overseeing all the other cases—all in a different city. We’ll be lucky if we see each other on weekends, maybe every second weekend. Is that the kind of marriage you want?” I ask, the thought of living that way causing my heart to ache.
The answer is written in his eyes. It’s the same answer that’s written on my heart.
No.
“I also don’t want a marriage where my wife has to give up on her dreams,” he says, his voice sounding pained.
“I’ve always had dreams, many of them, and I’m sure there will be many more. But I believe marriage is a gift, and I’m not going to take chances with it—unnecessarychances.”
I reach up, cupping his face, loving the feel of his hard jaw against my hand. “Jobs will come and go, Luke, but what we have, what we’ve been given…it’s special and it means more to me than anything else in this world.”
His gaze softens at my words. “It feels like I’m asking too much of you,” he says, turning into my palm, brushing his lips against my palm. “Like I’m asking you to give up everything, to change your whole life.”
