would pass, but for now she’d allow her family to show her how much they loved her.
She’d gone to bed early tonight because Charli was tired, too, and curling up in bed was easier than trying to pretend her life was normal, so she was surprised to see Miikka’s name on the screen of her phone. He never called her when he was on road trips unless it was an emergency and she worriedly picked it up.
“Miikka?”
“Tara.”
“Is everything okay?” He didn’t sound upset but her stomach clenched worriedly.
“Yes, of course. Why?” He was speaking Finnish and sounded very relaxed.
“Because you never call me.” She was suddenly suspicious.
“I call you all the time.”
“Not on road trips.”
“Well, I was worried about you. Charli told me what’s going on with you and Donovan.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said quickly. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Why would you lie to me? You’re heartbroken and sad, you’re not eating or sleeping well, and Charli’s worried. Which made me worry. I called Aiti and she’s also worried.”
Tara sighed. “I’m not the first woman to have her heart broken. I’ll be okay in a few weeks.”
“I don’t understand. If you love him, and he loves you, why are you apart?”
“He doesn’t love me.”
“That might be the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.”
“If he loved me, why wouldn’t he have told me? Or at least offered me the option of going with him to Buffalo?”
“Because you’re so happy.”
“What?”
“You’ve made it clear that you love your life in Anchorage, especially your new job, so he probably thinks he’s doing what’s best for you.”
“Well, I do love my life here. Should I have lied about that? I have you and Charli, my friends, hockey, and now an incredible new job. My life here is great.”
“As good as your life with Donovan?”
Tara swallowed, tears pricking her eyelids. “Well, no, of course not, but he doesn’t love me. You don’t understand.”
“I do understand and you’re being stubborn. Tara, I know him, and I know you. You’ve both been hurt after long relationships, but the joy I see when you’re together is special. He’s crazy about you but he’s gun-shy. His ex-wife wouldn’t move with him when he got traded. How do you think he feels, knowing how happy you’ve been? You got the job and you’ve built a life in Anchorage… All he sees is another woman breaking his heart.”
“I’m not Jane,” she snapped angrily, swiping at her eyes. “I would never break his heart!”
“Exactly.”
“But you don’t know for sure that’s how he feels.”
“One hundred percent? No. But ninety-nine percent. For sure.”
“Ninety-nine percent isn’t for sure,” she murmured.
“Go to Buffalo, Tara.”
“I can’t. I don’t even know where he lives.”
“Get on a plane and go to Buffalo. Send me the flight information and I’ll book it for you. Get an early flight out so you can be there when he gets home tomorrow.”
“I can’t just go to Buffalo.”
“You can. Because if you don’t, it’ll be the biggest mistake of your life. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
“He tells me he doesn’t love me and wants a divorce.”
“What’s happening right now?”
She was quiet.
“You don’t know if he loves you or if he wants a divorce, and your heart is broken. If you go, at least you’ll know, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure you’ll get the news you want to hear.”
“Miikka, I’m scared,” she whispered. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone and…”
“I know. I was scared when Charli told me to go back to Finland and forget about her. Where would I be if I’d done that? Certainly not married to the love of my life, about to become a father… You have to fight, Tara. You ran away when things went bad in Finland, and it was the right thing to do in that situation, but this time it’s different. You have to run to the fight because that is the right thing to do. The important thing to do.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“From what Charli said, you can’t feel much worse than you already do. Now go find a flight and I’ll book it for you.”
“No.” She took a breath. “I have Donovan’s credit card, and we’re still married. I’m going to use it.”
“Call me? Tell me how it goes?”
“I will.”
“Love you, Tara.”
“Love you, too.” She hung up and reached for her laptop.
Her flight left Anchorage at the ass crack of dawn, and Tara dozed on the way to Minneapolis. There would be a two-hour layover there, and she’d arrive in Buffalo early