“How so?”
Sighing, I run my hand over my hair and pull on my ponytail. “We’re like night and day. We’re both fierce, but in different ways. I want to take care of him, help ease his worry, but he . . . he’s jaded, ruined by the city, I think. I don’t know. He doesn’t want to love, but there were times when I thought he’d ask me to stay. I thought things would be different and that I’d get my fairy tale.”
“But?”
“But it’s not meant to be. He likes the single life, the women banging down his door and being sought after. I can’t compete with that.”
“And yet you came together for something magnificent?”
“Why do you say that?” I ask, looking at her.
“It’s something I feel by the look in your eyes and the way you speak about him. As if he’s wronged you, but you’re willing to forgive.”
“Yeah, something like that.” The magnificent part happened years ago in the form of Morgan. Everything that happened this past week was amazing and beautiful, and yet I hate myself for it.
The plane pulls away from the gate, and all hope of seeing Finn get on the plane and beg me to stay is gone. I knew it was a long shot, but a girl can dream. That’s all I have, dreams. It’s the only thing that will keep me sane right now. The lady next to me starts to hum. I don’t know the song, but it’s soothing.
As we take off, the tears fall even faster. She grasps my hand, giving me some comfort. I close my eyes when the skyline of Vegas appears, not wanting to see it disappear in the blink of an eye, and once we’re airborne, she lets go.
“I don’t understand love these days.”
“Me neither,” I respond with a small laugh.
“What’s his name? This man you love?”
“Finn.” His name escapes my lips before I can stop them. I have two hours to get him off my mind and focus on my future and here I am reliving everything because I can’t shut the waterworks off. If I could be stoic and pissed off, I’d be in a better position. Hell, maybe I should’ve worn my stripper clothes on the plane. That for sure would’ve made it so she wouldn’t talk to me, but the guy next to her would’ve. That’s when I’m at my best—dealing with men. They’re transparent and easy to read when I’m Catalina and not Macey.
“Well, Finn is stupid.”
This time I full-on laugh. He is stupid, but then again he isn’t. He told me from day one that our arrangement would end, and at first I wanted to believe him, but he worked his way into my heart, showing me everything that I was missing. Thing is, if he knew I had gotten pregnant from our one night together years ago, he wouldn’t be this big shot in Vegas. At least, not in my mind he wouldn’t be because he would’ve stayed home and gone to school there. He would’ve been around to help with her, to help me.
Instead, he has a life and a good one at that. And I have thirty thousand sitting in my suitcase that is going to get me on the right path. Sure there were many times I could’ve told him who Morgan is, but at what expense? He has the money to hire high-powered lawyers who could easily take her away from me. I have only Morgan. The courts won’t care that I’m her mother because by the looks of us, we struggle. With her father she’d have everything.
She deserves everything.
“Finn is stupid,” I agree. “But he’s also smart and handsome. He can be caring when he wants to be, but he’s closed off and afraid to fall in love. I was stupid enough to think that I could change his mind, but I’m not enough.” Maybe it’s because I didn’t try or due to the fact that I didn’t take his pissy attitude all the time. Even though he was paying me to do his bidding, I wasn’t going to let him walk all over me.
“Vegas does that to men. They’re so used to having everything they want at their fingertips.”
She has no idea.
“Your boyfriend sounds like a colossal piece of shit.”
The lady and I both look to our right at the man who occupies the aisle seat. I frown and turn back toward the window. I know we’ve been speaking loudly, but that doesn’t give him the right to butt in.
“Excuse me?” the lady says next, adding a bit of flair to her question.
“Look, I’ve been sitting here listening and I’m serious, the man is stupid. Forgive me for saying this, but you’re fucking gorgeous and have a rocking body.” He taps me on the arm to get my attention and now that I’m looking at him, he continues. “And forgive me for saying this, but if I was hitting this”—he motions between him and me—“I wouldn’t be so keen on giving it up.”