“I’m not happy here, Peter.”
“No? You seemed to be happy enough when you left. What changed? You want more money?” He shrugged. “I can probably arrange that.”
“It’s not about money.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s about…it’s about life. And it’s very short.”
He sighed. “So your brother’s death really had an effect on you.”
“Did you think it wouldn’t?”
“I thought you’d be over it by now and ready to get back to work.” He stood up and glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting that I can’t miss. But you need to let me know what you plan to do. I’ve got your schedule lined up for the next month already.” He paused at the door. “Don’t rush into anything, Jordan. We all go through stages of burnout. Hell, I’ve threatened to leave before myself.”
She nodded. No, she wouldn’t make an impulsive or hasty decision. She wouldn’t have to. She’d been mulling it over ever since she stepped off the plane at O’Hare. She knew in her heart, the decision was already made. She knew before she’d even come back to Chicago, which made her question why she’d bothered to come back in the first place.
She picked up the phone before she could change her mind. It was her mother who answered her father’s cell.
“Hey, Mom. Are you already getting ready for the dinner crowd?”
“We’re still at the house. About to leave, though. Did you need to talk to him?”
Jordan hesitated. Was she being hasty? No. She kept seeing Annie’s face, seeing the tears she had been trying to hide. No, she wasn’t being hasty. She couldn’t wait to get back home.
“Let me talk to him for a second,” she said.
“Okay.” Then, “Have you settled back in yet?”
“No,” she said honestly. “I miss it there.”
“We miss you too. Annie misses you.”
Jordan laughed. “How do you know?”
“I talked to her this morning. She said you have only called once. She’s afraid you’re…well, that you’re not coming back.”
“I called and we talked for over an hour. And it made me miss her more so I haven’t called again. Because…well, because if I call, I’ll want to be there. Which is why I’m calling now.”
“Oh?”
She smiled. “Let me talk to Dad.”
“Okay, here he is.”
“We’re about to head to the restaurant, Jordan. What’s up?” he said in a hurried voice.
“Remember when I told you that we’d need to hire a manager for Fat Larry’s by January?”
“Yes.”
“Well, cancel that. I’ll be your manager.” That statement was met with silence. “Dad?”
“You’re going to come back? To stay this time?”
“If you’ll have me,” she said.
He laughed. “Pack your bags.”
She couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “You sure? You’ll let me run the store?”
“Honey, I’ll give you the store if it means you’ll come back home.”
She frowned. “Is that singing I hear?”
“Your mother is doing the happy dance and singing. Off-key, as you can tell.”
She laughed. “Tell her not a word to Annie. I want to surprise her.”
“I will. We love you, Jordan.”
“Love you too.”
Jordan spun around in her chair, taking in the view outside her windows again. She was smiling and she couldn’t stop. Was it a hasty decision? Didn’t matter. It was the right one.
She turned back to her desk and pulled her laptop closer. She pulled up her email, addressing one to Peter. Her fingers drummed the keys as she tried to decide what to write.
“It is with regret that I resign my position…blah, blah, blah,” she muttered.
She deleted that as soon as she’d typed it out. No. No need to bullshit.
“I quit,” she typed instead and sent it without a second thought.
She closed up her laptop and looked around the office. She had nothing personal here, not really. A few mementos she’d picked up on business trips but nothing that she couldn’t live without. Well, there was the Petoskey stone she’d found in Michigan. She never had it polished, preferring to keep it in its natural state. She did on occasion dunk it in water to view the pattern on it. She picked it up and folded it in her hand, deciding it was something she wanted to take.
She looped her briefcase over her shoulder and headed to the door without looking back. She passed by Antonio’s office and didn’t bother to look inside. She did stop at Michelle’s door, however. They’d worked together for years now, and they had a mutual respect for each other.
“Hey.”
“Hi, Jordan. What’s up?”
She smiled. “I wanted to say goodbye. It was a pleasure working with you.”
She frowned. “You’re leaving? You just got back,” she said.
“Yes. I decided that I…well, that I need to be at home. With my family.”
Michelle stood up and walked over to her. “So you’re leaving me with Antonio for good, huh?”
“Sorry about that.”
Michelle stuck her hand out, and Jordan shook it. “Well, I enjoyed working with you too. I’ll miss you.” She paused. “Giving notice or just up and leaving?”
“Up and leaving,” she said.
“Don’t you own a condo?”
“I do. It’s in the Loop, Michigan Avenue. I shouldn’t have a hard time getting rid of it.”
“No, probably not.”
Jordan nodded. “Well, good luck,” she said and turned to go.
Perhaps it was rude not to say goodbye to the rest of her team, but she simply wanted to get out of there. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited by the elevator. She wanted to get out of the city and go home.
Back to Rockport. Back to Annie.
And she couldn’t get there fast enough.
Chapter Forty-Two
Annie leaned on the deck railing, watching the colors as they bounced across the water. It had been another gorgeous sunset, another one she’d viewed alone. She sighed and moved to where the ceiling fan was stirring the breeze. She couldn’t decide when she missed Jordan the most. Was it now, sitting out here? Jordan loved the deck, loved sitting out and watching the water, watching the sunset. Or was it at night, in bed? Yes, she especially missed her there…missed sleeping with her, missed touching her, missed being with her. And she missed her at the store. Fat Larry’s seemed empty without her there.
Her whole life seemed empty without Jordan around. How had that happened? How could Jordan come into her life so unexpectedly—so thoroughly—and disrupt her entire being? How could she have fallen so hopelessly in love with her in such a short time? But was it really that short? As she’d told Suzanne, from the first day they met, way back in early May, she’d felt something. She had been falling in love with her and she hadn’t even realized it.
Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket, smiling. Jordan had perfect timing.
“Hey,” she answered.
“Hi. What are you doing?”
“Leaning on the railing, thinking about you,” she said.
“Oh, yeah? I wish I was there.”
“God, I do too,” she said. “I miss you so much, Jordan.”
There was only a slight pause as Jordan cleared her throat. “All this, Annie…it’s been a mistake. A huge mistake. I’m sorry.”
Annie felt her throat close up. “A mistake? Jordan…no. Please don’t,” she whispered. “I…I need you.”
“Oh, honey, no,” Jordan said hurriedly. “No. Not you. Not us. I meant here…Chicago. It was a mistake to come back.”
Annie sank down into a chair. “Jesus, Jordan, you scared the crap out of me. I thought you meant—”
“I’m sorry. No. What I meant was…well, I miss you too. I’m coming home.”
Annie gasped. “Home? You’re coming home? Seriously?”