“You don’t need to go to any trouble,” I said. “It’s just us, right?”
“Well, the neighbors may stop by,” Mom said. “But that’s another thing I wanted to ask you. Are you bringing your new girlfriend along?”
I froze. I couldn’t remember telling my mom about Julie, but I knew I must have. My mom waited silently for my answer.
“No,” I said. “Julie and I aren’t seeing each other anymore.”
“Oh no,” Mom said. “What happened?”
Telling my mom about Julie’s connection to Josh would only make things more complicated. My mom, who adopted me when I was just a baby, was already nervous about my relationship with my brother. When Josh first tracked me down, Mom spent weeks trying to talk me out of meeting him. She was terrified that my biological family would somehow steal me away from her.
“It’s not worth talking about,” I said. My voice was weak. It took all my strength to keep talking. “We just didn’t work out. That’s all.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mom said. “I could tell you really liked her.”
“You could?” I asked.
“Well,” Mom said. “You haven’t mentioned a girl to me since that horrible ex of yours. I knew this one must be special if you were telling me about her.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “She is pretty special.”
“Then—” Mom began, but I stopped her quickly.
“I have to get going,” I said. “Work is just nonstop right now, Mom.”
“Okay,” Mom said. “I understand.”
“I’ll see you for Christmas,” I said. “Love you.”
“I love you too, honey.”
I could tell my mom didn’t want to get off the phone. She was constantly worri
ed about me. She thought I worked too much and too hard. She insisted that I didn’t have enough of a life. It probably made her so happy to find out I was seeing someone. And now, I’d disappointed her yet again.
With a groan, I left the conference room. Marcy was still sitting at her desk. She looked at me nervously when I approached.
“Cancel the Richardson contract,” I said simply. “Send them the confirmation and then go home.”
“Go home?” Marcy asked.
“It’s the holidays, Marcy,” I said. “You deserve a break.”
“Thank you,” Marcy said. “But, I don’t mind.”
“I insist.”
Marcy smiled and nodded. She immediately went to work on the Richardson paperwork. I left the office without another word.
My drive back home was slow and exhausting. In just a few days, my entire world had crumbled around me. Julie hated me. Josh wasn’t speaking to me. And my company was teetering on the brink of ruin. I felt like there was nothing I could do to make things right.
I got home and went straight to bed, tucking myself under the covers and blocking out the world. I slept most of the day, happy to have an excuse to turn off my brain. Still, when I woke up that night, Julie’s face was the first thing I thought of. No matter what I did, I couldn’t stop missing her.
CHAPTER 25
Julie
Saturday morning came too early. Andrea was passed out on my couch, but I hadn’t yet made it off the living room floor. My head ached from all the wine we drank and, yet, the hangover still didn’t hurt as badly as the memory of what happened with Michael. I could still see him leaving the night before, disappearing out my front door without a backward glance.