Chapter 24 #3
Now I’m about to start hyperventilating.
I have never hyperventilated in my life, but don’t I always say there is a first time for everything?
And it’s all starting to hit me. I am being offered my dream job.
At triple salary! The exact type of high-end event planning I’ve always dreamed of.
And if Bolt Hotel Group buys the orchard and the inn, Aiden doesn’t even need to sell the Rosie Darling.
My parents and the Parkers will all be rich.
I want to yell yes! and see if Laura Bolt is one for a hug, but instead all I can think about is.
.. Aiden. And the look on his face when he thought I might go back to GMJ.
I swivel to find him. I don’t see him. There are lots of people.
But he’s not there. He’s no longer in the small crowd around me.
He’s gone.
I glance around. Maria gives me a sad shrug to indicate she doesn’t know where he went.
“Can I... Can I think about it?” I ask, turning back to Laura Bolt.
She smiles at me. “Of course. Take the night. But if you’re going to say yes, we need you first thing in the morning.” She hands me her card. “Text my personal cell when you decide.”
“I will,” I breathe. “Thank you.”
A flurry of congratulations and we’re-proud-of-yous come from my neighbors and friends. I hug Mom and Dad real quick, but they both see the tears in my eyes. I don’t stay long to discuss it with any of them.
“I need some air,” I say to Maria. She handles the crowd while I escape.
I don’t look back. I rush out the barn doors, through the grass, and across the road into the orchard. It’s still lit with all the twinkling lights. The other night it felt like the Milky Way, now it feels like a refuge.
It’s quiet here. I can think.
I slow my breathing and wrap my arms around myself because it’s colder than I expected.
But I like it at the moment, because it’s helping me to think.
There’s no real choice, is there? I may have fallen back in love with my hometown, but can I really stay out here and live a life?
I mean, that would be insane, right? You don’t leave Manhattan.
You go to Manhattan. And I was already there. At least, I had been.
And even if I was considering it, how foolish would I be if I turned down my dream job ?
It’s one thing to tell Steve and Geoff to go eff themselves.
This was different. I’d be working for a highly successful woman-owned business.
I could learn so much from Laura Bolt. I’d be an idiot to turn down this offer.
There is a rustling in the leaves nearby, and I already know who it is before I look up. Aiden is there. Before saying a word, he pulls off his sweater and hands it to me. He’s wearing a white T-shirt underneath.
I pull the sweater over my head, breathing in the scent of him, and then look at him. Tears sting my eyes. “Thanks.”
“Big night, huh?” he says. He slides his hands into his pants pockets.
“Lots going on,” I say. It’s Understatement of the Year Award material. I kick at the leaves with my boot, willing my eyes to stop watering. This is excruciating.
“I heard the job offer with the hotel group,” he says.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” I say, and then I want to kick myself for saying it. He’s a pretty big deal too.
He nods. “Yeah. Triple your salary? Pretty great.”
“Uh-huh.” It feels like a golf ball is lodged in my windpipe.
He points his face toward the sky and expels his breath. “You gonna take it?”
My chest is so tight it aches. My face feels like it could crack into pieces. “It’s a really good offer. It’s my dream job.”
He nods. I see his Adam’s apple work as he swallows.
“They want to make an offer for the inn and orchard too,” I hurry to add. “This place is perfect for their new line.”
He lowers his face again and presses his lips together before he says, “Yeah. I don’t think we’re gonna sell.”
I take a step toward him. “But, Aiden, don’t you see? If you all take the Bolt Group money, you’ll be rich. You won’t have to work another day in your life, and you can keep the Rosie Darling.” I search his face. He has to understand what an amazing opportunity this is.
The hint of a sad smile touches his lips. He kicks at the leaves too. “But what will we do all day?”
I shake my head. I don’t understand. “Whatever you want.”
He pokes his tongue into his cheek. “What if what I want is to run this place?”
I frown, then shrug. “I’m sure you can get a job with the Bolt Group here. With your experience—”
He makes a frustrated groan and scrubs both hands over his face. “You don’t understand, Ellie. It’s not about taking a job. It’s about owning something. Loving something. Doing what you love all day every day. Answering to no one but yourself.”
My heart is breaking. I understand. But except for answering to someone else, that’s what the Bolt job would be for me. He has to understand that this is what I’ve been waiting for my whole career. “Aiden, I—” What else is there to say?
He steps toward me and takes both of my freezing hands in his. He rubs the tops with his thumbs to warm them up. Our gazes lock. “Look, Ellie. I haven’t been able to get the words out, but what I wanted to tell you earlier... what I’ve been trying to tell you... is that I love you.”
My eyes are no longer watering, now full-on tears are stinging them. “No, Aiden. Don’t.”
“I have to say it. I realize you may not feel the same, but I have to let you know, or I’ll regret it forever. Just like last time.”
My breath sticks in my throat. My heart pounds. I swallow. I say nothing.
“I’ve loved you since we were kids, Ellie, and I always hoped we’d run this place together.
When you left, I tried to move on and live my life, and I did.
.. for a while. But when you came back.
.. it was like I finally had my chance.
And I knew I had to take it.” He squeezes my hands this time.
“I love you and I want you to stay, but I won’t be the reason you miss out on your dreams. I want the best for you.
I want you to be happy. If you have to go, I understand. ”