Page 124 of That Moment
I blink, stunned. “He—he told you that?”
I swear to god, he can never keep his damn mouth shut!
Scotty laughs, it’s a bitter sound that makes my stomach flip. “Guess he figured I should know the woman I’ve been sleeping with is planning her exit.”
“That’s not what happened.” I stumble out of bed, dragging the sheet around me, anger cutting through the shock. “I didn’t take the job! I told Axel offhand, on my way to see Celeste, that she offered it. That’s it. I can’t believe he went and told you.”
He’s pacing now, bare feet heavy on the wood floor, voice low and sharp. “You said it like it was nothing, Adrienne. Like some passing detail. I find out from yourbrotherthat you’re thinking about leaving town, not from you.”
My throat burns. “Because I hadn’t decided anything yet! I hadn’t even processed it! I promised her I would consider it, that’s all.”
He turns on me, voice breaking with frustration. “You think that makes it better? You dropI love youlike a bomb right before you move across the goddamn country? What the hell was that supposed to mean?”
I stare at him, chest heaving. “Wait, so you thought I accepted the job and was just going to dip out on you? Without a word?”
He exhales hard, scrubbing a hand down his face, guilt flickering in his eyes but not softening his tone. “I didn’t know what to think, Adrienne. You—you’ve got a whole world waiting outside this town. I figured it was only a matter of time.”
My voice trembles. “You didn’t even consider that if Ihadtaken it, I might’ve asked you to move with me? Or that we could try long distance?”
That stops him cold. His mouth parts, but nothing comes out. I shake my head, tears stinging. “You didn’t even give me the chance to explain. You just went straight to the worst version of me in your head.”
He looks away, jaw tight, regret flickering there, but pride keeping it locked down.
My voice cracks. “God, Scotty, you talk about not being good enough for me, but you’re the one who doesn’t believe inus.”
He swallows, shoulders rising and falling, then mutters, “I need some air,” and moves for the door. He’s halfway out the door when he stops. His hand grips the frame, knuckles white, shoulders heaving with every breath.
“So you’re not moving to L.A.?” His voice is clipped, flat, like he’s bracing for the worst even though I just said I wasn’t. He needs reassurance.
I shake my head hard, breath rushing out. “No.” My voice cracks, raw from holding back tears. “I already told Celeste no.” He turns slightly, just enough that I can see the sharp line of his jaw, the storm still written across it. “I don’t want to leave you,” I whisper. “I don’t want any of it if it means losing this.”
For a fleeting second, relief breaks across his expression. But then it’s gone, replaced by that familiar wall he hides behind. His voice is lower now, rough. “Are you just giving up your dream to keep me?”
I take a shaky step forward. “That’s not what this is.”
He finally turns, eyes meeting mine, and for the first time in my life, I see fear in them. The kind of fear that only comes from caring too much. “Because I can’t be the reason you throw away everything you’ve worked for,” he says, voice cracking just enough to wreck me. “You’d end up hating me for it.”
Tears slip down my cheeks, but I don’t look away. “Scotty…”
He shakes his head once, like he’s trying to stop himself from coming closer. “Tell me this isn’t just about me, Adrienne. Tell me you’re not staying because you feel sorry for the guy who can’t give you a life outside this town.”
I take another step until there’s barely a foot between us, my voice soft but sure. “No. I’m staying because I finally figured out what I want, and it’s you.”
His breath stutters, eyes flicking to my mouth, to my tears, back to my eyes again. The fight finally drained from his face as he reached his hand up to wipe away the tears. His thumb catches the tear just before it falls. The rough pad of it grazes my cheek, gentle in a way that breaks me all over again.
I press forward, closing the last bit of distance between us until my chest brushes his. My palms flatten over his heart, feeling it hammer beneath my hands. “No,” I whisper, voice trembling but sure. “I’m not giving anything up.” He exhales shakily, but I keep going, words spilling out now like they’ve been waiting years to be said.
“I don’t want L.A. I don’t want skyscrapers or some fancy office or a view that doesn’t mean anything. I don’t want to wake up in some apartment surrounded by people in a city who don’t even know me.”
My fingers curl in his T-shirt, gripping tight. “I want here. I want my family, my home, my job. I want Sunday dinners and bonfires and messy, beautiful fights with you. I realized I don’t need to go find myself somewhere else, Scotty. I’ve always been right here.”
He closes his eyes, breathing hard, like he’s fighting the weight of every word.
“I spent years thinking I had to keep running toward something to prove I was enough,” I whisper. “But all I was doing was running from you. From love.” Tears blur my vision, but I don’t look away. “I love you, Scotty. I’ve always loved you. I’m done pretending it’s anything less.”
For a long second, there’s only the sound of our breathing. My hands tremble against his chest, waiting for him to say something that proves he believes me. But he doesn’t speak. He just stares at me like I’ve stripped him bare.
Then his fingers slide up, slow and shaking, curling around the sides of my neck. The moment holds, fragile and infinite, his thumb brushing over my pulse. The look on his face wrecks me, like he’s tired of fighting. Then, all at once, he breaks.
