Chapter Two #2
“You know,” Vesna said, idly, her smile growing. “You could go to Denver.”
“Me?” Ayana nearly knocked over her drink that was now half empty. She already felt a little buzzy on her empty stomach.
“Why not? Put your I don’t need a man to the test.”
“That’s a test I’d win every time.”
“Okay. I don’t want a man then.”
She stared Vesna down. Vesna stared coolly back.
“You’ve already communicated with Cam. He likes you.
I can tell. His responses have more sing and zing when you’re texting.
Besides, I had to give up the lease on this apartment.
It was coming up for renewal next month and the rent was going to increase by twenty percent due to the new owners and the rehab in the lobby and gym. ”
Ayana sloshed the rest of her drink back and felt it settle cold and bubbling in her stomach, mixing sickly with the cold noodles. “Gave up the lease?” she echoed.
She’d been thinking that she’d have to leave, but the end of the month was only a few days away.
“I didn’t know how to tell you. I couldn’t reach you the last few days. I was going to find us another place before you came back, but you came back two weeks early, and …”
Yeah. That. Being fired has a tendency to send you packing early.
“And I met Ryan, and he wanted to move to Savannah, and I thought you could come with us until you found something you liked. He has a guest room. Ryan knows about you and your schedule, and he’s cool with you crashing with us in between your cruise assignments for a while.”
Ayana stood up, too edgy to sit.
“You didn’t think to run any of this by me? I would have come home to new locks on the door. No warning. No plan.”
“I wouldn’t leave you high and dry. I would have packed up your stuff with mine,” Vesna said defensively, looking around as if trying to see what, if anything, was Ayana’s.
“You always have a plan, Ayana. I didn’t think you’d care.
You’re gone most the time, and Savannah’s a vibrant, much smaller but infinitely more charming city.
” She played with her glass. “Besides you knew about Cam and the meeting. I might have been moving to Denver and Montana if I hadn’t met Ryan. ”
Ayana didn’t know what to say. Vesna wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t feel right. It felt like rejection. Betrayal. And that right there was a reminder that she’d broken a rule. Gotten close.
“You could go to Denver. Have a weekend away in a posh hotel. You know Cam. You’ve texted.”
“He’s a stranger who’s expecting you.” How did Vesna not get that?
“Don’t make me feel guilty.”
“I am not responsible for your feelings,” Ayana snapped.
She was unwilling to take on anyone else’s baggage or expectations again.
She’d had that her whole life with the Family.
“And I do feel blindsided. I never thought Cam would amount to anything. Or that you’d meet Mr. Probably Wrong in a soup line.
No one falls in love in a few days. No one. Love is a construct. A delusion.”
“How do you know? You’ve never ever tried it.”
And she had no intention of doing anything so stupid. She’d seen Vesna get ramped up about some stupid man who’d let her down. And so many women she’d worked with pretzeling themselves to please some totally unworthy, unpleasable man over the years.
“Don’t be mad.” Vesna jumped up, put down her glass, and pulled Ayana into a hug.
“I know it’s a change, but you thrive on change.
You’ve traveled all over the country and the world.
And you’re not stranded. You can come to Savannah with me and Ryan.
Or I have a first-class ticket to Denver and a hotel suite for three days.
You’ve always been telling me to get my adventure on—say yes to the plot, Vesna.
Live a little. Go out on a limb. And now I am, and you’re trying to make me feel bad about it. ”
“I can’t make you feel anything,” Ayana said, but she was being a cold, damp blanket. She wondered if this were a Reddit post, was she being the jerk?
“Denver’s supposed to be beautiful. Surrounded by mountains.
You can meet Cam or don’t meet him. The suite’s paid for so you’d still have three days of luxury.
I even booked spa services—prepaid by Cam.
You may not even have to deal with Cam. He didn’t even answer my texts yesterday or today so, even if I wanted, I couldn’t cancel.
But maybe he’s changed his mind and met Mrs. Perfect in a Starbucks line so he’s waiting to let me down respectfully in Denver before letting me wallow in luxury while I drink champagne and nurse my disappointment. ”
Ayana had never experienced fantastical thinking from the practical Vesna. Was this the fault of the soul mate?
“Consider it a vacation,” Vesna said. “Have an adventure and then figure out your next move. Who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love with Cam, and we’ll all have a big laugh about it at our weddings.”
Ayana felt the champagne come up and tingle her nose.
Gross. Like she’d sign a contract to become a broodmare for a man.
Well, at least Cam had intended to give Vesna a choice.
Ayana smiled grimly, wondering what Cam—who thought he was getting an educated, financially savvy brunette bombshell—would think of her.
Not that she cared. And it was an option.
“Text me the deets,” Ayana said, standing up and walking to her bedroom—her own safe space—for what was soon going to be the last time.
*
Telford stood in front of the wall of windows, blind to the view Cam had loved so much.
Even when Cam had been in college, improbably taking a gangly punk with a smart mouth and sharper fists under his wing, Cam had talked about having a penthouse office in the bright blue sky where they’d close deals over breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Where they’d be somebodies.
Had Cam felt like they’d finally made it?
Telford thought they had, but for Cam, there was always another deal, a new goalpost, a shiny object he had to have. Ironic as Telford was the Crow.
But Cam had been intent on making other plans for later, only later for him had never arrived.
Cam had been intent on flipping the script. Making lists. Finally trying Thai food. Getting outside more. Montana. Hell, he hadn’t even made it across the street before being run down.
Telford had seen the accident, had been there within minutes, and had been at Cam’s bloody side to hear his last gurgling breaths and his whispered you … you … need … legacy for us.