Damn. It’s crazy the things you never know about your parents or their marriage that can affect your life so much. “You guys always acted like everything was perfect. I never knew.”
“Oh, we’re far from perfect, Hayes,” my mother interjects. “But we handle our issues as they appear. We work very hard at our marriage. We go through good and bad waves, just like everyone does, but we agreed to never stop fighting for our relationship, and that’s why we’re still together.” Her eyes glisten as she reaches for my dad’s hand and they squeeze each other simultaneously.
“I don’t want to lose Waverly, guys. You were right. I didn’t realize how lonely I was, how much of a future I wanted with a family of my own until she helped me see it. We may have been drunk when we got married, but I’ve never felt that something was meant to be more than what happened that night.”
“Sometimes alcohol gives us the determination to go after the things we want but can’t admit when we’re sober.” My dad winks. “You’ve known her most of your life, but never really saw her.”
“I agree, but I’m seeing her now. And she’s what I want. I want a life with her.”
“Then I’ll gladly accept your resignation from the job if that’s what you still want. Or, I can teach you how to manage it better.”
I contemplate his offer, but then remember what I told myself. I want to do what makes me happy. And my clubs make me happy. Having time to spend with Waverly makes me happy. And I don’t want to give that up. “No, I think I’m good.”
“Well then, Alan will be pleased to take over for you. He probably knows more about both sides of the company anyway and has more experience with balancing responsibility.”
“Yeah, I definitely wasn’t prepared for that,” I reply sarcastically.
“So what are you going to do about Waverly, Hayes? I don’t want to lose my daughter-in-law? You still owe me grandchildren,” my mother interjects.
“Glad to know where your priorities are, Mom.”
“She’s right. You owe us grandchildren and a real wedding, Hayes. Waverly is a part of this family now, and she needs to know that.”
Smiling mischievously, I say, “Don’t worry. I have an idea. I just hope it works.”
Chapter 20
Waverly
“Are you sure about this?” Emma chews on her thumbnail while sitting in the chair next to me in the waiting room of my lawyer’s office.
As my leg bobs up and down, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. “Yup. I can’t keep pretending that this isn’t over. His actions have spoken loud and clear. And I said my peace, Emma.”
“I know you said that the club opening was a disaster, but maybe you guys should just talk one more time, try to work through it …”
“It’s been three days. If he wanted to talk to me, he would have called me. The only time we’ve spoken since that night was this morning when I text him to say I would be by the house this afternoon to get the rest of my stuff, requesting that he not be inside that house when I’m there.”
“And what was his response?” she asks, biting her lip now.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yup. That’s it. Seems he’s made his decision as well, so there’s no need to prolong this. A divorce takes about six months to be final anyway… no sense in wasting any more of my time.”
My heart doesn’t want to believe in what we had anymore. The pain that comes with remembering how it felt to fall for him is more extreme than I’ve ever felt—more than realizing my parents aren’t invested in my life, more than accepting I wasn’t enough for Brett when he cheated on me.
So I’ve put my walls back up because the one person I knocked them down for desecrated my heart in the process. That lost girl I was when we got married—well, she’s back and I didn’t ever want to feel like that again. But at least this time I’m not as lost because I have a plan for my future, an actual step forward that I can take. I’m saving myself, loving myself and going after what I want, what I’ve worked for.
I spoke to Victoria yesterday and set up an interview for after I return from Aruba for Wes and Shayla’s wedding. With everything going on this week, including finalizing last-minute details for the wedding with the hotel and my break-up with Hayes, it seemed smarter to wait until after I return to start my new life with a clear mind and clear heart submerged in that decision.
Knowing I had my future waiting on the other side of this long weekend, I knew I wanted to leave this mistake behind me and wrap it up without any loose ends. So, later today I’m retrieving my desk and a few things I left at Hayes’ house, and that will be the end of that.
“You know,” Emma starts, eyeing me from the side. “I never took you for a quitter.”
“Excuse me?” Defensive shock barrels through me.
“You’ve never quit on anything since I’ve known you, Wave. But this?” She shakes her head. “You’re quitting on you and Hayes the second things got tough, the second they weren’t perfect anymore.”
“You have a lot of nerve saying this to me right now,” I
