Chapter 5 #2
We’d just placed our lunch orders, and I felt guilty. “I’m so sorry,” I said.
“For what?”
“I didn’t think this much time had passed,” I explained. “I’ve monopolized the entire morning.”
He waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mind. In fact, I found it rather entertaining to watch the enthusiasm you had all morning. And after your day yesterday, I think you deserve to do something that makes you happy.”
“That’s very sweet of you to say.”
“Well, it’s the truth. But I do have one question.”
“What’s that?”
Taj gestured to the loads of bags containing my purchases. “You picked up a lot of items today. I guess I’m curious about what your plans are.”
“My plans? My plans for what?”
For a moment, he hesitated. There was something much deeper than just a simple question. Taj had been so self-assured from the moment I met him, and this felt like the opposite of that.
“I’m not looking for you to share things you don’t want or aren’t ready to share, but it feels like you might have purchased a lot of clothing if you aren’t planning to stay in town for a while.”
Until he mentioned it, I hadn’t exactly given it much thought.
I’d considered it briefly, and the only conclusion I’d drawn was that I needed some time to myself to sort out my next moves.
Rising Sun hadn’t been on my radar. I just happened to wind up here.
But now that I was here, now that I’d met Taj, I thought it wasn’t such a bad place to spend some time clearing my head.
“You aren’t trying to kick me out of town, are you?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. In fact, this amount of clothing feels promising. Like you intend to stick around for a while.”
My eyes roamed over his face. He really was so handsome. And if this persona he’d shown me the last two days was genuine, Taj really was a great man. If only I’d met him at another time in my life.
“I don’t have any specific plans,” I revealed. “Maybe that’s crazy, but for once in my life, it feels good to not really know what’s coming next. And this town seems great so far, so I think it’s worth considering doing some soul-searching here.”
The corners of Taj’s eyes crinkled with his smile. “I think you’re going to love it.”
“Not that I don’t believe you, but I think it’d be tough to find a place that isn’t better than where I was,” I revealed.
“I don’t know if Rising Sun will turn into a permanent thing for me.
It’s way too soon for me to make that kind of decision.
But I like it here, so far. And since it’s likely my career is over, there’s no need for me to rush back. ”
His brows knit together, his head turning slightly to the side. “What did you just say?”
“I like it here.”
“No. Not that. Why did you say your career is over?”
I dropped my gaze to my lap. It was one thing to have certain conversations with Taj like I’d already had with him, but since I really didn’t know him that well yet, I wasn’t so sure it was wise to share everything.
My privacy meant everything to me, and while I wanted to believe the best about Taj, I didn’t know how much discretion he’d have if he knew the details.
Then again, depending on how things went down yesterday after I left, it’s possible Taj would find out on his own anyway.
“If it’s okay with you,” I said, returning my attention to him. “I’m not sure I want to talk about it right now.”
He reached across the table and squeezed my forearm.
“I already said you didn’t have to discuss anything you didn’t want to.
If you decide you want to talk, I’m happy to listen, though.
And for what it’s worth, I don’t know what caused you to make the decision that you did yesterday, but I don’t think it should mean that you suddenly don’t get to do what you love.
Regardless, I’m glad you wound up here.”
I wanted to focus on the way his touch felt on my skin, but I was entirely too caught up in the words he’d said.
It was crazy to me that Taj believed I loved my career.
Sure, I didn’t mind that it had come with some hefty contracts that meant I was mostly set for life at this point.
But deep down, I hated it. I hated the industry, the pressure, the endless expectations.
And Conrad was probably close to the worst that came with it all.
“I’m glad I made the choice I did yesterday and that I wound up here, too.”
He removed his hand from my arm, and we sat there in comfortable silence with one another until our food arrived.
Finally, I said, “So, now that I’m planning to be here for at least a little while, what things do I need to know about this town?”
Taj laughed. “Well, where do I begin?”
He went on to tell me a bit about the town as we ate lunch together.
I learned more about the traditions that happened—things like the Christmas tree lighting last night—as well as the hot spot in town for a good night out—a place called Big Lou’s.
And Taj went on to tell me about the winter sports.
Despite me never having heard of this town before, evidently, it was a big ski and snowboard town.
I’d never done either, and at the mention of it, I immediately decided I was going to find the time to visit the ski resort one day. It was time I started living for myself.
I was already doing it, had done it from the minute I walked out of that wedding venue.
And just like I’d told Taj last night had always been the case, this was just one more scenario where following my gut was making me happy. I could only hope it’d continue to be like this.