Chapter 31
JAMISON
Dori hangs up the phone as I finish wiping the kitchen counter off after dinner.
She slides onto a stool. “Jonah said he’s sure they’ll get me reinstated, but nothing is in writing yet.”
“That’s all he said?”
“Yes.” She squares her shoulders. “I don’t even know why you made me call him.”
“You know why.”
“No, I don’t. It’s like you want to put this barrier between us, so I’ll stay here.”
I toss the dirty towel into the sink. “That’s not what I’m doing. I want you to move with me.”
“Really? Because it doesn’t feel that way.” She turns and mopes to the couch. “If you’re having doubts about us, just tell me.”
My insides collapse.
How do I keep this from her?
She deserves to know she’s been reinstated. And I’m not dumb. Hunter may be telling me he’s not going to tell her, but I know the second I’m gone and she’s safe, he’ll jump at the chance .
How would she feel about me, knowing I kept something this important from her?
She pushes into the corner of the couch, hugging her knees. “See, you can’t even tell me you’re having second thoughts.”
“That is so far from the truth.” I slowly walk over to join her. “I’m not having any doubts about you moving to Miami.”
“Are you sure? Because you’re acting like you are.”
I sit in the chair across from her so we keep eye contact. “The only reason I keep bringing this up is because I believe your job is waiting for you. I don’t want to be blindsided.”
“How would you be blindsided?”
“Say you get your job back, and I’ve already moved. I don’t want to get a call from you saying you’ve changed your mind.”
“I’m not going to do that, Jami.”
“But let’s say it does. Then what?”
“It hasn’t happened, so why keep bringing it up?” Her eyes fill with tears. “Did Aiden change your mind about us?”
Fuck, I’m screwing this up.
I sit straight. “No. Aiden isn’t going to get me to change my mind. No matter how angry he is, I’m not willing to give you up.”
“Then let’s drop this.”
“I’m sorry, Dori. I can’t let this go.”
“Why? You can see it’s frustrating to me.”
I get up and move next to her. “Can you please work with me for just a minute?”
A tear falls down her cheek. “Why are you doing this? I’ve told you I want to be with you, and you’re giving me pushback.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. I just want you to consider the possibility so we can have an honest conversation about it.” I wipe her tear from her cheek with my thumb .
She leans into my hand. “Can’t you see you’re more important to me than my job?”
“I want to believe that.”
“But you don’t.”
The truth lodges itself in my throat. She may say I’m more important to her, but until she’s faced with the fact she can stay at Efron Worldwide, I’ll never know for sure.
I place my hand on her knee. “You’ve asked me to open up to you, so I will. A part of me doesn’t believe you’ll move.”
“But I’ve told you I will. I’ll call the movers tomorrow and get it scheduled.”
“That helps calm my mind, but it doesn’t remove the fact that if you have a job here, everything changes.”
She shakes her head, pushes off the couch, and marches to the bedroom.
Great.
Now she’s pissed, and I don’t blame her. I’d be frustrated if I were in her shoes too.
I give her a minute alone while I try to find a way around my predicament. She deserves the truth, but I’m terrified she’ll get hurt if I interfere in Hunter’s plan.
It’s a hard place to be. I don’t trust him, but I’m acting as if I don’t trust her.
Fuck me.
Something crashes against my bathroom floor. I get up to check to see what it was.
Once I round the corner from my bedroom to the en suite, Dori comes into view, sitting on the floor with tears streaming down her face. She’s wiping up a broken bottle of moisturizer that’s splattered all over the tile.
I kneel beside her, placing my hand over hers. “Let me do this.”
“No. You’re the one who was shot, and I’m the one who dropped this.”
“Dori, stop and look at me. ”
She continues to wipe the floor with a cloth. “This isn’t going anywhere.”
“Are you talking about the mess or something else?”
“Both.”
“Look, you and I need to talk about this. Stop cleaning for a minute, and let’s figure this out.”
She ignores me and goes about picking up the shattered jar. Knowing she’s not going to give me a pass, I stand and go get some cleaning supplies to give us some space. Neither one of us is going to budge on the subject, so I need some time to figure out how to approach this.
Once I’m back in the bathroom, she stands and tosses the cloth and the broken bottle into the trash. She brushes by me and stomps into the bedroom. I get the distinct feeling she’s about to lay into me.
I follow her out. “Dori?—”
“No. You don’t get to run this relationship without my input.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Fuck, Dori?—”
“No. I mean it, Jami. Either you hear me out, or I can go home.” She pops her hands to her hips. “If you have doubts about us, tell me now.”
I glance at the door to my bedroom, trying to find the right words.
She cuts into my thoughts. “No, you don’t.”
I face her. “Don’t what?”
“You’re looking for an escape route. This is what you do when things get too hard to talk about.”
My shoulders lower, and I coil into myself. “I’m not looking to leave this conversation. I was merely trying to find the right words.”
“Sure. I’ve heard that before.”
Yeah, she’s definitely pissed .
“Dori, trust me. I’m not trying to avoid this. If you recall, I’m the one who said we need to talk.”
She half rolls her eyes. “You want to talk about my job. I want to discuss the doubts you’re having about us. Those are two different topics.”
“Which are tied together.”
“No, they’re not.”
“I’m not going to argue about semantics. The truth is the doubts I’m having revolve around you working at Efron Worldwide.”
She releases a frustrated growl. “I don’t have a job at Efron anymore. Why are you beating this to death?”
“Why are you refusing to consider the possibility?”
“Forget it. This is obviously too much for you to deal with. If you won’t drop it, I’m going home to think.”
“Yeah, because locking yourself away works so well for you,” I say dryly.
She’s not amused.
She glares at me from across the room. “Seriously? You throw this back on me like I’m the one who’s trying to fight? I’m not the one pushing this and looking for a reason this relationship won’t work.”
“Jesus Christ, that’s not what I’m doing.”
“Really? Then why focus on a job I don’t have?”
I rake my teeth over my bottom lip. I’m so close to coming clean with her.
“Dori, if I leave for Miami and Jonah and Hunter get your job back, will you find a reason not to move?”
She blinks a few times as confusion swirls in her expression. “If I answer you, can we stop fighting?”
“We’re not fighting. We’re trying to understand where the other is coming from. There’s a big difference.”
She huffs. “Semantics. Your words, not mine.”
She can be so fucking stubborn.
“Fine, Dori. We’re in a fight. Does that help? ”
She storms out of my room. Rightfully so.
“Dori, stop.” I follow her out as fast as I can without blinding pain taking over. “Please, I’m in no shape to chase you.”
She halts mid-stride. “That’s not fair.”
“But it’s the truth.” I continue to pad toward her. I reach her and turn her to face me. “You’re right. I’m causing problems where there doesn’t need to be.”
She studies me, then softens her stance. “Why are you second-guessing me?”
I give her the honest truth. “I’m scared I’m going to lose you.”
“But you won’t. How many ways do I have to tell you? I’m not letting you go.”
My instincts want to focus on her job, but I can’t do that without everything going off the rails if I do.
I lead us to the couch and sit. “Can you please try to understand this isn’t about me trusting you? This is about my insecurities.”
She turns sideways on the cushion and faces me. “I get that I’ve hurt you in the past. That part makes sense, but I need you to realize that I love you, and this relationship is the most important thing to me. If you can’t see that, what hope do we have?”
She’s got a point. Even when she finds out she has her job back, I need to give her the courtesy of believing what she’s telling me.
“You’re right. I’m just struggling.”
She scoots closer to me and takes my hand in hers. “Then talk to me about that. Don’t throw a wrench into our relationship just to get me to see you’re fearful of the future.”
“Since when did you become the rational one?” I shoot her a guilty smile.
“Since you were shot, and I almost lost you.” She leans over and kisses me .
I reach behind her head and pull her closer. There’s nothing I want more than to feel our connection right now, but my body has other plans. Pain shoots through my ribs, and I gasp.
She pulls away. “Okay, that does it. When did you last take your medicine?”
I glance at my watch. “Yikes. It’s been over six hours.”
“Oh, Jami. No wonder you’re acting like this.” She stands and hurries to the kitchen.
She finds my pill bottle and proceeds to get my medication. “You’ve got to be better about taking these. Chasing the pain is the worst thing you can do.”
“No, the worst thing I can do is fight with you.”
She shakes her head, grabs some water, and comes back to the couch.
She hands me the pills. “Take these, and then let’s finish our talk.”
I do as she asks, and she takes the water from me once I’m finished.
She places it on the table before us and sits again. “I want to clear up any doubts you’re having.”
“Wow, look at you confronting your issues head-on.” I smirk and lean over to kiss her cheek. I sit back once I’m done. “In all seriousness, I appreciate your willingness to work things out with me.”
“Like you tell me to do, I want you to communicate with me, so I need to be willing to do the same.” She carefully snuggles up to me.
I relax with her in my arms. “I’m not going to mention your job anymore. If you say you’re coming to Miami with me, then I need to trust you about that.”