Page 27 of Take My Name

Curiously, she lifts the first book and looks through the others but stops on the Hayden Wills novel I’m in the middle of reading.

“That’s one of my favorite authors,” I murmur, walking up behind her. “But it takes me a couple months to get through his since they’re thicker.”

His epic fantasies are over eight hundred pages with small-ass text, but it means I always have something of his to read because there are several I haven’t gotten to yet.

“Oh,” is all she says before setting it down without going through the rest.

“I needed something to help me get out of my own head,” I blurt.

She knows I wasn’t much of a reader in high school, but it got lonely sitting in this house all alone.

“He’s a good writer,” she says, but there’s a weird hesitancy in her voice.

“You know of him?”

She turns so we’re facing each other. “Mhm. I’m a friend of his agent.”

“Ah.” That makes sense. She probably knows a lot of authors besides the ones she represents.

Her gaze finally lifts to mine. “You built this house as if you hoped it’d bring me back.”

“Of course I did.” I scratch over my scruffy cheek, contemplating how much to reveal when we’re this close. “We made plans for our future, and I made a promise to build your dream house. Split up or not, I wasn’t going back on my word.”

Her teeth drag along her bottom lip as if she’s trying to keep up with her thoughts. “I need you to understand that I’m not comin’ back. You know that, right?”

I will hold onto hope until the day I die. “Sure.”

“You need to decorate, fill up the empty space, and make it a home…foryourself. Open your heart to someone and give yourself permission to be happy. It’s not too late.”

Instead of telling her that’ll never happen, I come up with an idea.

“I’ll make you a deal.”

She takes a small step back, crossing her arms and looking less than amused. “What kinda deal?”

“I’ll do those things you saidif…”

Her shoulders slump because she knows I’m about to make it harder for her to get those papers signed.Good.

I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering about the what-if and if this is the only chance I get, I’m taking it. It’s this or she files for a default divorce anyway.

“You gimme seven days to prove there’s still somethin’ between us.”

Her arms fall to her sides as she gapes at me. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s only a week. We deserve the chance we never got after you left and shit hit the fan.”

“A week ain’t going to change being apart for seven years or that I’m engaged to another man.”

“How do you know if we don’t try?” I challenge, hoping she’ll take the bait.

“You think you can make me change my mind and fall back in love with you in seven days?”

When she says it like that, I sound as delulu as Nicky.

But fuck it.

“No, but I think I can make you second-guess your decision in that timeframe. We aren’t startin’ from scratch. We have history. You fell in love with me once before, and I have no doubt I can remind you what it was like. I can show you what life would be like if you had stayed. Maybe I’m wrong, and it’ll backfire, but maybe I’ll be right. And hell, if I’m not, I’ll sign those papers and you’ll never hear from me again.”