“So which Denver firms are hiring?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, pleats between his knotted eyebrows.
Crap! Why hadn’t she just told him what she was doing at the beginning? Because it had seemed easier not to until she had something solid.
“I’m not just looking in Denver.” She held her breath, waiting for this statement to sink in. Applying for the out-of-state openings had been driven by one factor: the positions were in prestigious firms like the one in Seattle, and she wanted to find out if she could land a coveted job on her own merits. Whether she’d take it was a different matter altogether.
Quinn’s mouth hung open, and astonishment flashed in his brown eyes. “Where are you looking?”
She tried to keep her voice light. “Mostly in the western states.”
He seemed to measure her. “And tomorrow’s interview? Where’s that company located?”
Inwardly, she cringed. Why was this so hard? “Texas. Not so far away.” No reason to tell him she had interest from North Carolina, Illinois, and Virginia, which had been a huge confidence booster. Now that boost didn’t seem to lift her as much.
He threw out an arm. “How’s that supposed to work? You live in Texas, I’m in Denver, and we see each other every few months? Unless I’m traded to Dallas, which won’t happen if I can help it.” The better part of wisdom made her hold back that Texas wanted her because of her Spanish, and working there would mean long stints in Mexico. A long shot, and even if they offered her the job, what would she do with Archer?
Quinn’s eyes bored into her. Her mouth opened and closed. “We never talked about life after the caregiver job ended, and I just assumed—”
His frown deepened, and she hurried on. “The pandemic has twisted everything. Hasn’t it occurred to you that this … attraction”—she waved her hand between them—“only happened because we were stuck together? And that once we were unstuck, everything would go back to the way it was?” Like Cinderella … who had a happy ending. “Maybe this is a good time to take a break and see if this thing we’ve got is going to survive outside of a forced shelter-in-place.” These arguments had been churning in her head, and they made perfect sense. Surely Quinn’s logical brain would see it, too.
Instead, his volume climbed. “Attraction? That’s what you call what we’ve been doing?” He ruffled his short, damp hair. “Where do you see yourself living if you stay in Denver? And where do you see me living?”
“I assumed you’d move back into the condo you miss so much, and I’d stay at Gage’s until I find my own place here or …” Move away. Except she didn’t want to move away, but she owed it to herself to look at all her options, damn it! It didn’t mean she and Quinn wouldn’t see each other.
“You’re doing a hell of a lot of assuming on your own. Did you assume we’d go our separate ways? Is that what you want? You haven’t once mentioned living in my condo with me, so I can only assume that option’s off the table,” he huffed.
She gawped at him. Living with him hadn’t crossed her mind, and if it had … Well, she’d made that mistake with Wolf, and she didn’t intend repeating it. “We never talked about me living there!” she spluttered.
“Because I didn’t see this freight train bearing down on me.” He paused to pull in a breath. “Why not just stay with me? We’re so good together.”
Emotions tightened into a twister inside her. The plea in his eyes reached into her soul, but she needed to do this. For her. For them. Somehow, she couldn’t find the words to explain.
In a resigned tone, he said, “So when are you planning to move in with Gage?”
“The governor lifted the restriction on real estate closings, so Gage and Lily close on their new house next week,” she answered lamely.
“Meaning you’re moving in with them next week. Were you going to tell me or just let me come home to an empty house?”
“That’s not fair!” God, he could be infuriating!
“Neither is putting everything into play without talking to me!” A storm brewed in his expression.
“I don’t need your permission!” Her voice pitched high.
“No, you don’t, but I thought people who were in love discussed big decisions with each other. I classify picking up stakes and moving halfway across the goddamn country a big fucking decision. Instead, you’ve been laying your own plans that you’re just now springing on me. You’re not in a vacuum, Sarah. This shit matters to me. It affects me too.”
People who are in love? He was in love with her? Was she in love with him? She pushed the questions aside because damn, she needed to do a better job explaining.
“When I moved to Seattle, I uprooted everything for a man I never would have started a relationship with in the first place had we not been forced to work together, and look how that turned out.”
A fire kindled in his eyes. In a low, dark voice, he said, “Have you told Gage about us?”
This was not going the way she’d hoped. When she’d played it out in her head, they had an objective conversation where she laid out her doubts, the reasons behind them, and her plans moving forward. In turn, he would say he understood where she was
