Well, the recruiter had called me twice in the past week, leaving voice mails on my phone, and I was too much of a chicken shit to call her back. I hated the idea of being unprofessional and dodging her calls, especially when the opportunity was so great, but what was I supposed to do? Cannon might have taken my heart, but I wasn’t going to give him my dignity too.
While I was trying to figure that out, something even bigger happened. It was Thursday night after work, and like usual, I took Enchilada outside and checked the mail. There was a letter with no return address, but the handwriting looked so familiar, the skin on the back of my neck started to tingle.
Without bothering to go inside, I ripped the envelope open right there on the curb. Inside was a plane ticket to Denver, Colorado, and a Post-it note that read:
If we don’t try, we’ll never know.
It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but I wanted to jump for joy. Cannon wanted me there. He wanted to try. It was something.
With my heart galloping in my chest, the first thing I did when I got inside was to call Cannon.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked when he answered.
Cannon chuckled. “Hi, Paige.”
The rich masculine tone of his voice shot through me like an arrow. God, I’d missed him.
“Hi.” I was breathless, and I wasn’t sure why.
“I take it you got the ticket?”
“Yes, but I don’t understand. I thought you were moving on. No looking back.” I sat down on the edge of the couch, stroking Enchilada’s soft fur.
“Listen, I think I might have fucked some things up. After Bob died, and then Allie caught us together and freaked out . . .” He paused, releasing a heavy sigh. “I think it’s better if we have this conversation in person.”
“You want me to fly three hours so we can talk?”
“I’m hoping we’ll do more than that.” His voice dropped lower, and tiny chill bumps broke out over my entire body.
I didn’t say anything because, holy hell, what was I supposed to say? My world was tipping sideways.
“Will you come?” he asked, his voice tentative and hopeful.
I suddenly realized how far he’d gone out on a limb by sending me this ticket.
“Yes,” I said at last, my stomach tightening into a knot.
“Thank fuck. I missed you, princess.”
Wiping away a stray tear, I looked down at the ticket in my hand. “I leave tomorrow.”
“Yes. I’ll pick you up at the airport at eight.”
“See you then.”
? ? ?
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” I asked Allie as I handed her Enchilada’s leash. “It’s only for the weekend.”
She gave me a knowing smirk. “It’s fine.”
When I told her about my surprise trip to Colorado, I thought Allie might freak out. Instead, she’d offered to dog-sit for me. It made me wonder if perhaps Cannon had told her about the ticket before he sent it. She didn’t seem the least bit surprised.
“Thank you again. I’ll be home Sunday night.” I handed her the bag containing Enchilada’s food dish, his favorite blanket, and a canister of his dog food.
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.”
“Be good for Allie,” I murmured, bending down to stroke his soft gray fur one last time.
“You doing all right?” she asked when I rose to my feet. Allie’s brown eyes were filled with emotion, and the deeper meaning behind her concern hit me square in the chest.
She wasn’t asking if I was okay leaving my dog for two nights. She was asking the question neither of us was brave enough to talk about.
“You gave me some really bad advice,” I said softly.
“I know.” She hung her head, looking down at her shoes briefly before meeting my gaze again. “I should have told you to follow your heart. I should have told you to run, not walk.”
Tears welled in my eyes. Allie pulled me in for a hug, her arms tightening around me.
I had my best friend’s blessing at long last. The only thing left to do was go get my man and hope that nothing had changed between us in all these weeks apart.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Cannon
It was finally Friday, and Paige would be here in an hour. I felt like a scared teenager again, my stomach twisted into a knot, nervous over where the evening might take us and imagining it over and over. It was a little ridiculous how much I’d missed her. Since she called yesterday to say she was coming, I’d been wound tight, unable to think about anything else.
I spent the day vacuuming and cleaning my new apartment. I lived in a luxury building not far from downtown with a marble lobby and six floors. My apartment wasn’t on the top floor but it was a corner unit, which meant I had two walls of windows that let in the afternoon sun, and a nice balcony.
After I finished tidying up, I headed to the grocery store to stock up for the weekend, since my goal was that we’d rarely leave the bed. I picked up wine and cheese and fruit for tonight, and ingredients for the French toast I wanted to make her in the morning. Forty-eight hours with my princess wouldn’t be enough. I just hoped I could convince her to stay long term.