Page 75 of Ocotillo Kisses
“Ah. Yeah.”
“I thought things—I thought y’all had issues when she left.”
“We did. Not like last time, nothing that can’t be smoothed over.”
“And you’d—what? Leave the ranch?”
“The hard part will be my mom, you know? But she’s getting healthier, and maybe, if she wanted, she could come to Houston with me.”
“Or she could move into town, since we’ll be working on putting up those apartments. Not permanently, you know, but just so you don’t have to worry about her being out on the ranch on her own.”
“She’d hate knowing she’d be the reason holding me here.”
Javi nodded. “She would. Would you, I don’t know, stay in Houston?”
“Right now the plan is to come back here and practice once I have my degree. But that’s a few years down the road, and that’s even if I like studying it when I get there. Or, you know, even if I get in. Britt also pointed out I can do some stuff online, you know? While I figure everything else out. But I also kind of want to get to Houston as soon as possible.”
He’d tried to picture Britt there. He thought he could, but didn’t know if she had room in her life for him. Before he made plans to move across the state, maybe he’d better see for sure if she did.
“Don’t tell the girls, though.” Even as he thought about it, he realized maybe Javi wasn’t the best person to confide in. He wasn’t the greatest at keeping secrets. “I haven’t really decided, or talked to my mom about it or anything.”
“Sure of course,” Javi said. “If there’s anything you need me to do to help out, you’ve got it.”
“Thanks, man.” They shook hands.
“So you still love her?” Javi asked.
Con shook his head. “The Britt I loved back in high school is different from this Britt, so no, I don’t think I’d say I still love her. I love her again.”
Chapter Twenty Six
Somaybe getting back in the swing of things wan’t going to be as easy as Britt thought. Honestly, the idea of putting on make-up and fixing her hair to go out to lunch with a client felt beyond her ability. What was going on? She had loved that before. She had thrived on it. Her business had thrived on it.
And honestly, only that could motivate her out the door and down to the restaurant her client wanted for a venue.
The Italian eatery was new, limestone and stucco inside and out, heavy dark Mediterranean tables and chairs , the walls decorated with ironwork interspersed with paintings of the Italian countryside. Once upon a time, she’d wanted to travel, to see that. But that dream was no longer so important.
