Page 67 of Wilde Abandon
“Yes.But if you don’t like it, we could get something else.A house.”
“Just like that.Just buy a house?”It blew her mind that he was ready to do something so huge to make her happy.
His gaze narrowed.“Are you asking if I have the money to do that?”
“I don’t,” she confessed, because she wanted it to be clear she didn’t make the kind of money he made.He had to know that already, but she needed to say it.
He simply grinned at her.“I do, sweet Dee.I can give you anything you want.”
She wanted to be his partner.“I have some money saved up.”
“Okay.What did you plan to do with it?Go back to school?Open another business?Get a house?”
She tilted her head and studied him.“Would it bother you to introduce me to your friends and clients and say that I’m just a waitress?”
“No.Because I know you’re a hell of lot more than just that.”
“It doesn’t bother you that I have no idea what you do on the computer?All that code stuff means nothing to me.”
“If you’re interested, I’ll teach you what it means.If you’re not, it’s no big deal.”He shrugged it away.
She thought it was important.“But it’s your life’s work.”
“So?It’s what I love doing.You understand that it’s important to me.That’s enough.You don’t need to understand code to support me.I have no idea how to run a bar.I don’t need to, to know that you love that place.We can have a conversation about my projects and your night at the bar and still connect about that without knowing all the bytes and how many shots you can get out of a whiskey bottle.”
“In a fifth of whiskey, about sixteen shots.”
Fox grinned.“Well, there you go.I learned something.”
“Shots will only make the world turn you upside down on your ass.You actually create things that are useful and necessary.”
“Everyone who comes into that bar is looking to feel useful and necessary to someone.You give them a place to let loose, relax, and have fun.That’s important to the soul.”
She wanted him to understand.“I want to be useful inourlife together.I guess I’m just not sure what my place will be in a place I’ve never been and a life I never thought I’d live.”
He put his hand on her thigh and squeezed.“We have time to figure it out.And if what you want is to bring some of Wyoming to Boston, we can figure out how to do that, too.”
“I don’t even know what you mean by that.”
“I’m not real sure either, but if what you’re looking for there is what is familiar to you here, let’s figure out what that is and make it happen.”
That actually kind of made sense to her.“Huh.”
“I hope that means you’re going to let that ruminate in your mind until you know what it is you need there to feel like it’s home.”
She would.But she already knew what made her feel safe and appreciated and necessary.“First and foremost…you.”
He leaned in and kissed her softly.“You always felt like home to me, too.”He lifted his chin toward her plate.“Finish up.”
The food was delicious and made her feel better.But so did their talk.She saw her future with Fox, but the details had been fuzzy.That scared her.It seemed the most obvious that she’d have to make the sacrifice and leave this place.But what if it wasn’t a sacrifice so much as an opportunity to reinvent herself?She liked the idea of bringing some of what she loved into their new life as she found a place in his.
She didn’t want to lose him because she didn’t compromise.
Her ties to Wyoming were about family.
He had an entire company built and operating in Boston with dozens upon dozens of employees depending on him.
Her family could visit anytime they wanted.She could come home and see them.