Page 86 of More than Paper

“What?”

“You don’t get it.”

“What don’t I get?”

“It’s not easy for me to let go of my independence.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“If you bankroll me, I have no independence.”

“I told you I would give you a card. I’ll give you an unlimited spending limit. You can have the code to my safe so you can grab cash if you want.”

She grabs my face. “That doesn’t give me independence.”

I close my eyes. “Quinn, you aren’t making any sense to me.”

“Earning money gives me independence. Taking yours doesn’t.”

“I disagree.”

“Okay. You’re allowed to disagree, but you aren’t the one being asked to change your entire life.”

“I told you I can’t move to Chicago right now because of work. I own a company. It makes more sense for you to move here.”

“I know. And I finally was okay with it all tonight. It all came together for me. I wanted to tell you that I was ready to move and let you take care of me.”

“Good. I’ll call the moving company.” I pull her into me to kiss her.

“No.” She leans away from my lips. “I can’t move here.”

“Quinn—”

“No, Jamison. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me you were married. You expected me to change my entire life for you, but you didn’t trust me.”

This mistake I made fifteen years ago just continues to spread.

My heart races. “I do trust you. I made a bad judgment call about when to tell you. But I’ve never lied or been unfaithful. I always planned on telling you. Don’t give up on me because I made a mistake.”

Her voice gets softer. “I’m not giving up on you. I love you. But I can’t move here.”

My mouth goes dry. “Quinn, don’t do this. Nothing has changed.”

She quietly says, “You need to stop saying that because everything has changed.”

18

Quinn

“Are you breaking up with me?”Jamison’s blinking back tears, and so am I.

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” I throw my hands in the air, frustrated.

He cups my face. “Please. Give me another chance. I know I messed up. I love you.”

A tear escapes my eye. “I love you.”

“Then we can get past this.”

---