"How long before you go?"
Her stomach twisted. This felt like a job interview. Or a police interrogation.
"My plane leaves Wednesday morning."
She saw the impact of her words reflect on his face.
"You're blowing off The Fix? The contest? You're not even going to say hello to Kiki?"
"I didn't set the time frame," she protested.
"No, you didn't have anything to do with any of this."
She said nothing. His words were true, but they hurt.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, then took a breath. And when he took a single step toward her, she felt her heart fill with hope. "Baby, why didn't you tell me?"
"Because they needed an answer right away. Because it's my dream job. Because I knew you wouldn't be happy for me. And because as much as I want the job, I don't want to leave you." She brushed away a tear, hating herself for crying.
His expression was gentle, but when he spoke the words sliced through her. "So your dream job has less responsibility than the one you have here?"
"You have no idea what responsibilities the job has."
"I may not work in your industry, but I'm not an idiot. And I know that dry cleaning and coffee isn't even close to an exaggeration. What happened to development? To being on the front lines?"
A hot wire of anger shot through her. "Don't tell me what job I want."
"I'm not. You're the one who's been telling me and Darryl for years. But you're not looking at the job. If you were, you'd see that you already had the dream job. You're just looking at the location."
"Hollywood? A studio job? Hell, yeah, I'm looking at the location. And you know what? You should, too."
"I should--what? What are you talking about?"
"You're laying this all at my feet, but you're not exactly tied to Austin. Kiki lives part time in LA, right? And you don't have a job yet. But you're making this all about me leaving you. Why don't we make it about you coming with me?"
It should have occurred to her before, but she'd been so wrapped up in the horror of leaving him that she hadn't thought it out. But it made perfect sense, and she told him so, relief flooding through her at having found a solution.
"And that's what you want?"
"Are you kidding? Of course. Do you think I want to lose you? It's perfect. I mean you could probably get a job at The Getty Center in a heartbeat."
"And the fact that I'm starting work on my doctorate in the fall?"
"There are universities in Los Angeles. Excellent ones with programs in rare books and manuscripts."
"And they'd probably even let me in. After I apply and wait a year. And what about my scholarship? It's not like I can afford UCLA or USC without one. Especially since I wouldn't have a job anymore."
Kiki would pay, she knew. But she also knew he'd never accept. Going through school on his own was important to Cam, just like getting to Hollywood was important to her. If she saw that about him, why couldn't he see it about her?
Frustrated, she sighed, then sat on the ottoman. "Well, then what do you want?"
It was a stupid thing to say, since she already knew the answer.
"I want you to stay here. I want you to work at the job you already accepted. The one that's going to give you so much hands-on responsibility. I want you to sit down with me and tell our families that we're dating. I want you in my bed every goddamn night. Hell, I just want to be with you, Mina. And I thought you wanted that, too."
"I do," she said, her voice so raw and hoarse she was afraid he couldn't even hear it. "I do, but I want LA, too."
"How exactly does that work, Mina? Because it seems to me that one cancels out the other."