“Of course they do. I do.”
“You might be the only one.” Sam opened the driver’s door, eyeing his friend, not surprised by his look of concern. Blake had spent the last few days trying to convince Sam to stay—all to no avail. “All they care about is the free food and booze.”
“Which begs the question, why bother having a party if you’re not going to be there?”
“Pass out a few business cards, tell them what a great real estate agent you are, then write it all off on your taxes.” He clapped Blake on his shoulder, giving him a grim smile. “Besides, you’re making a second whole commission off this deal. And I get to make my laser. Win-win.”
“Why does it feel like lose-lose?”
“All in the perspective, my friend.” As upbeat as he tried to sound, there was a hollowness about the words. It didn’t matter how many times he convinced himself that he was doing the right thing, he always came back to one thought. Everything felt empty without Remi. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
“Look, I’ll be the first to admit I thought you were jumping off the deep end for someone you barely knew, but after hearing everything that happened, I think she deserves to know how you feel. She deserves a call at the very least.”
“Already did.”
“Did you actually explain things to her? In detail?”
“There’s nothing to explain. She’s moved on with her life. Time for me to do the same.” Sam smiled as he held out his hand.
They shook.
Blake stepped back, watching as Sam slid into the driver’s seat, turning the key in the ignition.
Apparently, the man wasn’t willing to let it go. He banged on the window, walking alongside the Jeep, keeping pace. “I’m kind of rethinking the whole wanting-my-space-back thing. I’ve gotten used to you working there.”
Sam, worried that Blake intended to follow him all the way out to the street, hit the brakes. He sat there a moment, both hands gripping the steering wheel.
As much as he appreciated everything his friend was trying to do, there was no way he could begin to describe the impossibility of reversing this course of action.
Remi had made her choice—and whatever her plans, they didn’t include him.
“I’m okay with this,” he said, seeing the concern etched on Blake’s face. “You should be, too. Besides, you’re making a ton of money.”
“You know I don’t care about the money.”
“Somehow I don’t think you’ll turn it down, either.”
“Well, it’d be stupid to let it go to waste.”
“Better hurry or you’ll be late to the party.” Sam waved, then drove off.
He stopped at the first gas station, filled the tank, then glanced at his phone sitting in the center console. He picked it up, tempted to call Remi’s number, when a car pulled up behind him, the driver honking the horn.
Sure, he could call Remi again, but he wasn’t sure what good that would do. She had his number. She could have called him back at any time, but she hadn’t.
He was fine with that.
Right.
As long as she was happy.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
Remi walked into the Lighthouse, seeing Blake at the bar with a few of his friends, laughing at something. Sam was nowhere in sight. She approached, tapping him on the shoulder.
He turned, saw her, his smile fading. “Remi . . . What are you doing here?”
“Looking for Sam,” she said. “Do you happen to know where he is?”