Jilted Jock - Rebecca Jenshak Page 0,21

wherever he was at the moment. I felt braver somehow just by association.

“Congratulations, mate.” Chance clapped him on the shoulder, but I didn’t miss the worried glance he shot at Aubrey.

My brother was the worst when it came to coddling and protecting me. Yes, I’d given him very good reasons to worry about me, but I was doing good. Great even. But I knew he wouldn’t like me moving somewhere he couldn’t check after me so easily.

“Well, it’s just an offer,” Richard said, and his brown eyes checked my reaction carefully. He dropped his arm from my shoulder and scooted his chair closer to the table. “We can talk about it more later.”

Aubrey, bless her twice, carried the conversation after that, asking Richard about New York, what it was like to travel, if he was sick of airports yet.

“No, I kind of like it. Up in the air where no one can distract me for a few hours. Work has gotten so chaotic, I don’t get that kind of silence anywhere else.”

“What about you, Adele?”

“Do I like flying?”

She nodded.

“Well it’s certainly less exciting than a road trip across the country, but far more efficient for a long weekend.”

Richard chuckled. “Remember that flight we were on together where you were stuck in between that family that had four kids under the age of five?”

“Don’t remind me. It was awful. I mean, the kids were adorable, but they didn’t sleep for all six hours and not even my noise cancelling headphones helped. One of the little boys put his hand right in the middle of my salad, spilled my water… It was a very long flight.”

“Where were you?” Aubrey asked Richard.

I elbowed him playfully. “He was up in first class sleeping while I was stuck in the back of the plane.”

We both chuckled, but when I glanced up, Chance had a weird expression on his face.

“What?” I asked him.

“Why didn’t you sit together?”

“He got upgraded and I didn’t.”

My brother nodded but I could tell he didn’t approve for some reason.

When we got back to my place, Richard and I changed for bed in silence. It wasn’t until we were both under the covers that he brought up moving to New York again.

“I’m dying to know what you think.”

“I’m really excited for you,” I told him honestly. “You’ve worked really hard for this.”

“But?”

“No buts.”

“So, you’ll come with me?” His face lit up.

“What would that look like? I just quit my job here? What if I can’t find something there? I have some savings, but—”

“I can put you in touch with the headhunter we’ve hired to fill the positions in the New York office. I don’t think you’ll have any problem finding a job there.”

“And we’d live together?”

“Of course. You want that, right?”

What woman didn’t want her boyfriend to ask her to move across the country to be with him? If I was honest, I wasn’t sure I did, but those were my issues and had nothing to do with him. I liked routine and stability and this disrupted that. My steady and reliable boyfriend had just shaken up my world. Go figure.

But I loved him for asking and for wanting us to be together, so I said the thing you’re supposed to say knowing it was going to be uncomfortable, but that it was right. Relationships were about sacrifice after all.

“Yes. I want that too.”

I laid awake after Richard fell asleep. I went over and over it trying to imagine my life in New York. A distant meow pulled me from bed, and I padded across the house. Kitty was in the spare room with the door shut. It was quiet and dark, and I hadn’t heard Finn come in, so I knocked lightly and then opened it a crack. Kitty came barreling out, did a lap around the living room, and then followed me into the kitchen. I grabbed a sparkling water and a bowl of strawberries.

I ate and drank standing up and leaning against the counter while kitty walked along the granite demanding I pet her.

“You were lonely in there, huh?”

She meowed in answer and I picked her up. Her purr made everything seem so silly. Why wasn’t I ecstatic about a real-life adventure? It wasn’t exactly Bear Grylls level bravery, but this could be fun. An opportunity to prove to Chance, Aubrey, and to myself that I could do this.

I put on some music and twirled, dancing my troubles away with kitty. She liked it at first until I got