Page 33 of Sex, Lies, and Margarita Mixes

THE BIG DECISION

ROXY

The thing about big decisions is they never wait until you’re ready.

They show up at the worst times: in the middle of your busiest season, when you’re wearing a T-shirt with salsa stains, when your inbox is on fire and your voicemail’s full and you’ve already scheduled six tastings and two site visits and promised Mari Lynn you’d be at the venue by three.

“I’ve been offered a spot at the state food truck expo,” Chase casually says over coffee, like he’s telling me we’re out of oat milk.

I freeze mid-sip. My brows rise. “ The Expo?”

He nods. “In Austin. Three weeks from now. They just invited me this morning.”

I set my mug down slowly and look at him. I nod. “That’s… huge.”

“Yeah.” He watches me carefully. “It is.”

My brain scrambles to connect the dots. I mumble out loud, more to myself than to him, “That’s… four hours away. During peak wedding season.”

He nods again. “Yeah.”

I press my hands to my temples and exhale. “You’d have to close the truck here for a week.”

“Maybe longer. The Expo is a month long. And if it goes well… I could get offered a permanent spot…” He pauses.

I know what he’s about to say.

Looking up, I swallow. “Chase…”

“I’d have to consider relocating,” he finishes quietly.

The words hang between us.

Relocating.

He wouldn’t go without me. I know that. He wouldn’t leave… us.

“You want to do it?” I ask softly.

He hesitates. “It’s… everything I’ve worked for.”

I nod, my heart twisting and threatening to jump clean out of my chest. “It is.”

“Roxy, I want you to come with me.” He says it so matter of factly.

He wants us to go to Austin.

I blink hard. “Chase…”

He crosses the table, kneels beside me, and takes my hands. He weaves out fingers together. My palms are sweating as he says, “We’ve built everything together so far. I don’t want to take the next step without you. I can’t.”

I swallow as my ears ring and my heart races. “I have clients. Bookings. The company… my company.”

“I know.” He searches my face. “I’m not asking you to give it up, Roxy. I’m asking you to take it with you.”

I exhale shakily. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It’s not,” he says softly. “But it’s ours.”

I stare at him, at this man who’s made every day brighter and harder and louder and better. And I realize… I’ve never been scared of him. Just scared of losing him.

“I need time to think,” I whisper.

He nods. “Okay. I have to let them know by tomorrow morning, baby.”

Kissing my knuckles, he stands and heads out of the door, leaving me in the quiet to think.

I sit there, my coffee cooling and my brain spinning.

How the hell I choose between everything I’ve built and everything I’ve ever wanted and taking off to support the man who’s always supported me and my dreams living his?

I call Mari Lynn and tell her everything. “What do I do? Tell me I’m not crazy.”

She laughs dryly. “Babe, you married a man you knew for three weeks in Vegas four years ago and look at you now. Crazy is your brand.”

“I don’t want to give up my portion of our company and I can’t just ask you to take it all on with all you have going on with Knox.”

“I would never ask you to give it up. And why not? I basically handed it all to you when I went to Los Angeles with Knox. Sure, I still work, but you’ve been carrying the weight for too long now.” She says.

“Mari Lynn, that was different. I can’t manage stuff here from Austin.” I remind her.

“Maybe you won’t have to.” She quietly replies.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Knox and I talked about it. The show is established now, there’s not a lot to do when we’re not shooting in LA.

Not that I can’t do from here anyway. I can run our socials from anywhere.

Our classes are already here. Melody is deserving of a promotion, and I think we can hire more staff now, too, to help with the events,” she replies.

“You’ve been carrying this company solo for too long.

Maybe this is the push we both needed. And instead of thinking about it in terms of losing something, why not think about it as gaining?

Austin is a huge ass city and there’s a whole lot of money there.

Plus, we have some connections… I think an expansion might be in order…

if that’s something you’re interested in. ”

I go quiet.

Can it really be that simple?

“You’re not abandoning it, Rox,” she says gently. “This is growth. And it’s time.”

I blink back tears. “You really think we can do that, Mari Lynn?”

“For you? For us? Always.”

God, I love her.

It’s dark when I pull into the lot. Chase is sitting on the truck roof again, looking at the lights of the city.

He tenses when I climb up beside him. He’s quiet, just… waiting.

Settling next to him, I lean my head on his shoulder.

“I—I’m scared,” I whisper.

“Me too,” he admits taking my hand and setting both on his thigh.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”

He kisses my hair. “You are. I believe in you, Rox. I believe in us.”

I smile faintly and turn my head, staring at his profile. “I’ll go with you.”

He exhales shakily, his fingers tightening around mine. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I kiss his jaw. “We’re gonna figure it out.”

He exhales and lightly kisses my lips. “We always do, Roxy.”

Under the blanket of city lights, I finally let myself believe it.

We’re not starting over.

We’re just starting the next chapter.

Together.