Page 48 of The Risk Taker
Fallon starts walking again. “Are you one hundred percent sure?”
I touch her arm to stop her. “What are you getting at?”
She looks ahead, her lashes low, shadowing her eyes. “Nothing. I just didn’t know she had an appointment. She usually told me those things.” She starts walking again, and I keep pace beside her. She goes quiet, and after a long while she says, “It wasn’t your fault, Jamie. You can’t ever think that.”
“Why not?”
“You just can’t,” she says and once again I get the sinking sensation that she’s keeping something from me.
“Have you heard from Sara?” I ask, and when her body tightens, I have my answer. “Why didn’t you tell me?” This is what she’s been keeping private?
“Actually, I wasn’t sure I should. I didn’t want to ruin your vacation here. You seem happier, Jamie. More like the old you and I like being with that guy.”
“What did she want?” I ask. It’s not like Fallon to keep things from me. She knows I hate secrets and value trust.
“She asked if I was with you. I posted a picture on Instagram, and she must have recognized the beach.”
I look out over the water, my stomach clenching hard. “She liked it here.”
“Then I…I thought I saw her, but that’s crazy. She couldn’t be here, right? I mean, why would she be?”
My heart crashes a little harder as I glance around. “You think she’s here?”
“I don’t know.” She gives a non-committal shrug. “If she is, wouldn’t she have reached out to you?”
“I’m not so sure about that.” A wave comes up and I jump back to avoid it. “It is possible she’s vacationing around here. She loved this area.”
“Do you know where she went when she left?”
I glance up when off in the distance I hear music coming from an open window. Sound really travels here, so I lower my voice. “Probably back to San Diego. That’s where her parents live.”
“That makes sense.” A beat of silence and then, “Do you…ever think…” she crinkles her nose, like she can’t bring herself to ask.
“What, that we’ll get back together?”
“Yes.”
“She hates me, Fallon.” A tortured noise catches in my throat. “I’m pretty sure a reunion is never going to happen.”
“What if she doesn’t hate you?” she asks quietly, and looks down like she’s remembering something.
“She does. End of story.” I swallow the lump in my throat and turn things back to her. “Would finding the perfect man for you and Chase be part of your perfect world?” I ask, redirecting the conversation.
She gives a fast shake of her head. “I don’t want to date again. I can’t go through that, but yes, when it comes right down to it, I would like Chase to have a father.”
“And you, Fallon? Do you want a husband? Would that make you happy?”
“Yes,” she says quietly. “But he’d have to be kind, loyal, loving, and put the needs of his family first.”
“I didn’t put Sara’s needs first and that’s why she was in the car accident.”
“No, Jamie. You always put the needs of others first. Always. Believe me, I know,” she says quietly, then she opens her mouth like she wants to say more, but closes it again.
“You deserve that kind of happiness, you know. You deserve a guy like that.”
Goddammit, if I don’t want to be that guy for her.
“Thanks. You do too, Jamie.”