Page 73 of Pick Me
In truth, I’d almost forgotten myself.
And then I winced again because ithadbeen that long, and theyhadgotten along just fine without me. I hadn’t checked in with anyone at Bormon Klein Jacovic in weeks, and they hadn’t called me either. The last time I’d seen Rick, he and his team had been dealing with a crisis that I’d had no part in resolving.
You’ve been too busy getting laid.You’ve traded achievement for cuddling.
“Sorry,” Gage said, reading my mood but not understanding the reason. “I didn’t mean to say it so harshly. I’m sure theydomiss you.” His voice was sympathetic without being pitying. “It’s gotta be a huge mental shift, huh?”
“Mmm,” I mumbled noncommittally, my mind still processing things.
“But even though the circumstances suck, it’s a good thing you went home when you did,” Goodman went on, trying to soothe me. “It’s gotta be hard for Webb being the sole person in charge of Sunday Orchard while raising a kid, dealing with his ex, and all that. And it’ll be even harder for him next year when Em’s away at school. And even after Drew’s ankle heals and hecouldget out to the barn to do the accounting, he probably wants to slow down and spend some time with Marco.”
I blinked. “They spend nearly every day together.”
“Well, yeah, but they’ve never been on vacation together, even after all these years. And maybe Drew would like to move in with Marco but doesn’t think he can. You know, since Em and Hawk might need him closer?”
I blinked some more. I’d legitimately never considered that. In fact, I’d thought me living in Boston had been helpful, so I wasn’t intruding on Drew’s space or his relationship with Em and Hawk and even Aiden, who I’d been sure were all much closer to him than to me. I hadn’t really considered that Drew might have been happy for me to move back or that he’d maybe started making plans because he thought I was home permanently.
Guilt settled like a rock in my gut. I needed to tell my family the truth soon, or it’d be too late and I’d be stuck in Vermont.
And would that be the worst thing? Some distant part of my brain wondered.
I slammed the door closed fast on that intrusive thought.Yes, it would be the worst thing. It would be… terrible. My career was my identity, and my identity was in Boston.
“Okay, next question. Where do you see yourself in ten years?”
“Running my own company,” Gage answered promptly.
I snickered. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that you will, baby. But don’t say that in the interview. It’s a little like introducing your spouse to people as your ‘first husband.’ Instead, you can say, ‘I see myself tackling problems through a unique understanding of a business’s needs, being a leader in my field, and mentoring people.’ Also not a lie.”
Gage laughed merrily. “Okay, now that’s some finely tuned bullshit right there.”
“Not really! It’s like you putting a picture of your sexy lower back dimples on Grindr, LumberjackLuvr. Not a lie, just picking your best angle.” I paused and leered at him a little. “Oneof your best, anyway.”
He laughed again and spontaneously reached for my hand, threading our fingers together atop the console.
This… wasn’t a thing casual lovers were supposed to do, but then we’d sucked at keeping things casual since the first day. We’d shared a bed all night every night and celebrated the mornings with blow jobs. We’d watched movies on my laptop late in the evening while eating “Second Dessert” which, Goodman was right, was the meal the world hadn’t known it was missing.
We’d taken long walks around the orchard at lunchtime when the weather was nice and everyone else was out doing their own thing, and I’d told him stories I hadn’t even known I remembered about the history of the place and my childhood there. Each time we’d ended up at the Pond Orchard so we could make out while admiring the view.
I didn’t know if all that rule breaking was because Gage had never had a friends-with-benefits relationship before and didn’t know how weird it was, or because he figured boundaries didn’t matter since we had a big red countdown clock ticking down our time together until this job took him to New York. Either way, I was trying not to overthink things. There’d be plenty of time to get lost in my feelings—ornot, please Jesus—when he was gone.
And honestly, it wasn’t hard to be happy when Gage was around. In fact, it was almost impossible to be broody. The man was so damn excited by the simplest things in life that he made everyone around him feel excited, too.
It was a goddamn excitementplague, and I wasn’t even trying to fight it anymore.
“Okay, next question,” I said, interrupting Gage’s quiet singing along to the Avett Brothers. “What’s been the defining moment of your life so far?”
He turned to me in concern. “Oh, God. Are they gonna ask me deep shit like that? For real?”
They almost definitely wouldn’t, butIwanted to know.
“You never know,” I hedged. “Better to be prepared so they don’t trip you up.”
“Okay,” he sighed. His thumb stroked the back of my hand absently. “Hmm. There are a few. My mom died of cancer almost five years ago.”
I nodded solemnly.
“That doesn’t really have much to do with work, though, I guess.” He rubbed his jaw with his free hand. “There was the time back in eighth grade when I was in a movie theater with my girlfriend watchingTwilight, and the big lumberjack vampire came on the screen, and I confirmed for myself that I was one hundred percent gay—”
