Page 48 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Claire

White clapboard siding.

Pine hardwood floors.

Traditional window grids.

I scrolled through image after image of the new project on my computer. It was a cute, historic home turned inn in 1874. It needed some remodeling, a little maintenance and upkeep. Nothing to the size, scale, or interest that the Delano Library had offered me.

Maybe I was just spoiled with my first solo project. Most historical preservation projects were a whole lot smaller than the library. A lot of them weren’t even full remodels but rather segment renovations as needed.

“Is it not to your taste, Claire?” Andrew eyed me from the doorway of his office. He only had two offices in this space, one for him and one for the financial accountant. The rest was an open floor plan with a couple of communal desks.

“What? No. I mean, it’s fine. Really charming.” I nodded with a smile.

“Nia booked you a flight first thing in the morning. You should arrive by noon. The meeting is at 1:00 p.m., so be sure not to dilly-dally in the airport.”

“No problem. Thanks so much. I’m really looking forward to this.” My cheeks were starting to hurt from keeping this smile in place.

I had only been back in town for three days, and my mask was already starting to slip.

On Tuesday, I had tried to show Andrew pictures of the library since he hadn’t been there for the grand opening.

He shut me down instantly. No accolades, no “great work,” not a care in the world.

He hung my entire career on the line for months, and now that it was done and he’d received his final payment for his services, he was off to the next one.

It wasn’t that I needed the praise, but it would have been nice to hear.

I was living in my parents’ guest room.

I missed Reid.

I was miserable.

My email dinged with a new message. It was Nia sending me over my itinerary and accommodation information.

I had a 5:45 a.m. flight out tomorrow, arriving just after noon like Andrew had said.

What should be a two-hour flight to Detroit was somehow going to take me over six hours.

Add to that a forty-minute ride outside of the airport to the meeting location.

If I checked a bag, there would be no way I could get to the meeting on time.

My stay was booked at a place called Green Stables Inn. I googled the location, looking over my shoulder to make sure no one could see what I was searching. My heart sank. It was a budget-friendly motel.

The little hairs on my arms stood on end. It wasn’t the same place. I mean, what were the chances that another drunken, armed lunatic would put a room full of people in jeopardy because he couldn’t comprehend that he was in no state to drive?

I was sure it would be fine.

Everything was going to be fine.

My lies sounded like the squeal of Styrofoam rubbing making me internally cringe. I packed up my bags and computer and left for the day. It was almost the end of the day anyway. And now I needed to repack my bag into a carry-on size. For my two-month stay.

Ugh.

Nothing had felt right since the moment I drove out of Calla Bay.

The front door opened as soon as I pulled into the circular driveway of my parents’ estate.

“Thank you, Leon.”

“Ms. DeLuca.” He bowed his head slightly.

My mother was sitting in the den, so I muttered a quick hello before hustling upstairs to my current room. The fully packed suitcases mocked me where they sat by my bedroom door.

My limbs felt tight with bunched-up tension. I shook them out and took a few minutes to stretch, breathing deeply and evenly, trying to release some of my negativity. It was impossible. Doubt kept creeping into my thoughts, making me second-, third-, and fourth-guess my decisions.

I pushed the thoughts away while I sat on my floor and unpacked both bags. I was sorting everything into piles—need, want, leave behind—when a knock sounded on my door.

“Yeah?” I called .

My mother opened the door and strolled into my room.

“Hey, Mom.” I smiled brightly from my spot on the floor.

“When do you fly out?”

“Tomorrow morning. It’s an early flight, so I’ll probably just Uber to the airport.”

“Don’t be silly. Leon will take you. Just let him know what time you need to leave.”

I didn’t love the idea of Leon having to wake up early just to take me to the airport, but I would feel more comfortable with him than with a stranger.

“Thanks. I’ll let him know,” I said. “Um, is there anything else?”

My mother had positioned herself on the edge of my bed, presumably staying. We hadn’t spent much time together in the past few days. I hadn’t really wanted to spend time in the company of anyone since I got back to town.

“So, you’re still going, then? Is this really what you want?”

My head snapped up to meet her eyes.

“Mom.” I had to check myself from snapping at her.

“We’ve been through this too many times.

I have no interest in playing at politics, being a politician’s wife, hosting functions and always looking out for the next strategic move.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with doing that or wanting that.

But that’s not me. I’m not you, Mom. Please stop trying to make me live the same life you do. ”

“That’s not what I said. That was what you heard,” my mother sighed.

“You are always so quick to think the worst of me, Claire. All I want is for you to be happy. If it’s this job that’s bothering you, if it isn’t what you thought it was going to be, it’s okay to change your mind, to find something else.

Don’t live a life that makes you miserable thinking it will all change one day.

The only way things will change is if you make them.

You are my daughter, and I love you. This…

right now… this is not you being happy. Do you love him? ” she asked.

Her questions threw me off, and I answered without thinking.

“Yes. More than anything.”

“Love is a rare and wonderful thing, Claire. Be careful of letting it slip away because you’re too focused on the wrong things.”

She offered me a small smile before she got up and left, leaving me totally confused, sitting on my bedroom floor surrounded by empty suitcases and piles of clothes.