That was the problem. He was a man of action, but the ball was in Rachel’s court. If she didn’t make a move, he’d never be able to trust her.
The thing was, he didn’t think she’d be able to make a move. Approval was too important to her, and she’d had her entire being riding on that promotion. She’d likely convince herself that he was being a prima donna and stick with it.
The thought made him want to go into a dark room and never come out. The thought made him want to get into one of his cars and drive really fast through narrow European country lanes. Danger like that was excellent for honing your thoughts, so you didn’t think about anything but not driving your car off the cliff.
Erik knocked on his door. He knew it was Erik because Didier would have just burst in. “Jamie? Can you come downstairs?”
Sighing, he rolled off the bed. “I’m not hungry,” he said as he opened the door.
Erik put his arm around his shoulders. “I want to show you something.”
“What?” he asked numbly.
“You need to see it to believe it.” The kid led him to the stairs, letting him go first as if he were afraid Jamie would turn around and return to his room.
Jamie heard the low murmur of Didier’s voice in the living room. Likely he was on the phone, talking down the management team at Manchester.
Hearing Didier taking care of business made him feel bad. Part of this was his fault, after all, since he’d been the one to push Rachel to go to the baseball game with them. Not to mention that Didier had been doing everything to help him.
What was he doing? Wallowing.
That was going to change right now. He strode into the living room, Erik close on his heels. “Tell me how—”
He drew up short as Didier and Rachel turned around.
Fuck, she looked beautiful. She was wearing sandals and the sort of little dress that made men happy summer had arrived. Her lips were shiny, and her eyes were soft, and all he could think about was going up to her and taking her in his arms.
He steeled himself against that impulse, but his heart began pounding.
She stepped forward. “Before you throw me out, I have two things for you.” She bent to reach for something. When she straightened, she was holding out a piece of paper.
Foolish hope surged in his chest, but he tamped it down. The last thing he needed was to imagine what she was offering and be disappointed again. It’d crush him.
Slowly, he took the proffered page. He glanced down at it. He had to read it twice for its significance to sink in. “A letter of resignation? You quit?”
“Of course I quit.” She snorted. “You were so right. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I’m also sorry that I believed them. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
He frowned at her. “What made you change your mind?”
She held up a finger. “One, Lottie agreed with you.” She held up a second finger. “Two, when I walked into Robert’s office to hand in my resignation, he had a picture of you plastered all over his big computer screen. Your face was a sign. I’m sorry I doubted you, and I’m sorry that I let my job come between us.”
He nodded, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to step past the numbness and feel again. It’d been too painful, and Rachel apologizing didn’t mean anything in the end—not if she didn’t have the same vision of their life as he did.
“So…” She made a face, glancing at Didier, who nodded encouragingly at her.
“Oo-kay,” she said. “I have this for you too.” She held out another piece of paper.
He took it, surprised to see it was a press release.