“You want her to be happy and you thought the best way was to break her heart. She’s crying, Brett.”
“I’m so sorry,” he sounds as unhappy as Laurie does.
I sigh. It’s not the first time I’ve had to be a moderator in a fight between them, but it’s the first time Brett has asked for a break. “She’s the one who needs to hear that, Brett, not me. Why couldn’t you guys just discuss how you felt? Taking a break is seriously going too far.”
He exhales audibly. “You think we haven’t discussed it? I don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t promise that I’m not going to hurt her if she’s going to keep finding reasons to be hurt without me doing anything.”
I close my eyes. It had been so long since their last fight that I’d assumed they’d finally passed that stage in their relationship. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You have to decide what’s most important to you.”
I go back into Laurie’s room and watch her cry in her sleep. It’s real and it’s scary. It’s also frustrating that they would waste their time fighting, when they both know how they feel about each other. If I knew for sure that Landon felt something for me… Would I waste any emotion on fighting with him? I can’t imagine that I would.
As if he knows that I’m thinking about him, he calls me. I leave Laurie’s room again, going to sit on the couch in the living room.
“I thought you might be asleep,” he says when I answer. “What’s up?”
“Nothing. What’re you doing?”
“Having a late lunch.”
“How was your flight?”
“Uneventful.?
?? He lets out a tired sound. “I spent the whole afternoon trying to convince someone who suddenly changed her mind about selling me a property.”
“Did you succeed?”
“Barely.”
I find that hard to believe. I can’t imagine any woman being able to resist even the slightest argument from him. I wonder what tools exactly he had to employ in his convincing, and a stab of jealousy fills my heart.
“The next issue of Gilt Traveler will be out soon,” I tell him, “with the article about your hotel.”
“I’m looking forward to reading it.”
I hear someone say something to him in the background, then his voice responding, in rapid flowing French. Suddenly, I’m filled with an intense longing for him, so intense that it feels like I’m going to cry.
“Baby, are you there?”
The endearment makes it even worse. I miss you, I want to tell him. I’ve fallen in love with you.
“I’m here,” I say instead.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes...” I sigh. “Brett and Laurie… He told her they needed a break. She’s been crying all night.”
He is silent for a moment. “Did he say why?”
“Long story. He says she has trust issues… He thinks if she’s not happy, then what’s the point?” I shake my head. “But she’s miserable without him, and he knew she’d be. Why would you hurt someone purposely when you’re supposed to love them?”
“I wouldn’t know. But if she doesn’t trust him, maybe it’s for the best.”
I remember what he told me about his parents, his mother’s jealousy and distrust. “You’re not here Landon. She’s miserable.”
“She’ll get over it.”
I shake my head. “You don’t understand. They’ve been together for four years. You can’t just get over someone you’ve loved for so long. It’s not that easy.”