so freaking supportive that it was almost pissing me off.
We’d just said we loved each other, and now, he was pushing me away, encouraging me to leave California and him and come here.
“Why do you think that?” I asked with a snotty tone.
“Because you’re honest. And people, particularly rich ones, don’t like to be jerked around. Especially when it comes to their money and investments,” he explained, but I was still frowning. “Hey, why are you mad?”
“You want me to move here?”
He leaned toward me and reached for my hand. “Sunny, I want you to be happy. And if coming here and working with Danika would make you happy, then yes, that’s what I want.”
“Without you?” I asked, getting emotional because I no longer looked at my life as separate from his.
When I saw my life down the road, I saw him next to me. I had no idea where we were, but we were together. What if he didn’t see the same thing?
“Hell no, not without me.” He looked like I’d slapped him. “I’m just saying”—he rubbed his thumb across the top of my hand—“if you’re interested in working here with Danika, then you should say yes and at least give it a try. You and I will figure the us part out when the time comes. But I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you.”
“Unless you get drafted,” I said, the words sliding right out.
If Mac got drafted, he could end up anywhere, and I wouldn’t be able to follow him the way Danika had with Chance. They’d gotten lucky with the way things had fallen into place for them.
“We can cross that bridge later. But don’t you dare give up on this opportunity because of me and my dreams. That’s all I’m saying.” He kissed the side of my head, and I leaned into the crook of his neck and closed my eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Mac was being supportive, and I was taking it all wrong. So, I took a deep breath instead and decided to let it go for now. There was nothing to figure out this second anyway. Danika had said my job offer was good until I died, and we wouldn’t know anything about the draft until June. There was no rush to make a decision before we landed back at LAX. I needed to chill out.
*
I dropped Mac off at the baseball house, and we kissed for longer than usual as we said our good-byes. New York had been so sweet to us. I’d never forget hearing Mac say that he loved me for the first time under the falling snow, in such a hallowed place. It was funny how hard it was to hold those words inside, but once you finally said them, they came out all the time.
And it shouldn’t have, but it felt weird, being back home. California was hot, still shorts weather, and it was such an odd thing after just being in the snow, where the atmosphere was so completely different than it was here. I felt like I finally understood what Danika had always tried to explain to me when she lived here. She’d said New York had a distinct vibe, but it’d never made sense before. My head couldn’t even comprehend how they could be so unique from one another, but they were.
I missed it already.
I’d never missed a place before.
Parking my car, I pulled my suitcase out of the trunk and wheeled it toward the doors of my building. I noticed Rocky’s Mustang in the lot with the trunk open. It looked like she was either putting things in her car or taking them out. When I walked into the hallway and rounded the corner, I almost ran straight into her.
“Oh. Sunny, you’re home,” she said, looking tired. Maybe it was because she wasn’t wearing any makeup. “How was New York?”
“Hi.” I gave her a hug. “It was incredible. Are you coming or going?” I noticed that her hands were empty, so maybe she was unpacking after all.
She gave me a soft smile. “I can’t stay. I just came back to get my things.”
“You’re moving back home?” I asked, sounding sadder than I’d meant to. I didn’t want to make her feel any worse than I knew she already did.
“I went back for Thanksgiving, and it was so nice. I didn’t realize how much I was just trying to prove a point by being here. Either to myself or everyone else.” She