“And lose you?” She flushed, glaring. “Is this some kind of test of worthiness? I’m required to demonstrate what I’m willing to sacrifice in order to stay with you? We’re not in your fucking game, Adam. This is life. If I don’t choose wisely, then I lose you? Well, it goes both ways. If you don’t choose wisely in how you deal with this situation, you lose me, too.”

That red alert Klaxon was sounding at the back of my head again. My palms started to get sweaty, where they rested on the kitchen counter. I decided this game was more like poker than chicken. And it was time to keep a straight face and call her bluff.

“Whatever the case, this hinges on you. So what is it?”

Her hands balled into fists and without another word she pivoted and left the room.

I waited for a minute before realizing it might be a fatal error to let her out of my sight. When I found her up in our bedroom, she’d grabbed her purse and keys and was looking for her shoes.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m leaving.”

“You can’t just run away. You need to make a decision.”

She straightened from slipping on her shoes and her features were like ice. But she had tears in her eyes, furiously trying to blink them away. “I made the decision. I just told you. I’m leaving. I don’t do ultimatums.”

She moved around me to exit the bedroom when I took her arm in my hand. She yanked it free, rounding on me. “I can’t believe you’d do this.” She cleared her throat, blinked a few more times and squared her shoulders. “No, that’s not the truth. I can believe you’d do this. That’s the worst part of all.” She turned and walked out the door.

I ran my hand over my face, resisting the almost overpowering urge to go after her. She’d be gone one night, tops. Maybe two. The door downstairs slammed and I closed my eyes. She hadn’t even taken clothes with her. This was just her way of exerting her independence—the famous Mia Strong “balls of steel” Geek Girl independence that made her who she was. And in many ways, that made me love her so much.

She’d realize what losing this—what losing us—really meant after a night or two sleeping in bed alone and she’d be back. I paced the floor for a good half hour before deciding I might drive myself insane. I was still sore from last night’s late workout, but the restless energy could not be pent up.

I changed clothes and decided to take out my frustrations on a punching bag.

She’d be back—I was certain of it—when she saw what she’d be losing. With each passing hour of that day and with every new activity, I determined to get my mind off of our showdown. But I grew less and less certain.

Chapter Six

She came to the office the next morning. She was on time—I’d checked. I kept tabs on her throughout the day, wondering when she’d call Maggie to make an appointment to see me. Or maybe she’d send a text message asking to talk after work.

Jordan, who had attended the surprise party, gave me a wide berth, avoiding eye contact. Sometimes I caught him looking at me with pity eyes. My cousin Liam just flat-out wasn’t talking to me. Seems in the short time that Emilia had been working here, they’d become fast friends, eating lunch together most days. Somehow, in my cousin’s worldview, it appeared that the problems between Emilia and me were my fault.

She never called me on Monday and in my most panicky moments, wondering how long this would last, I remembered that she was incredibly stubborn. Our game of chicken was still playing out. If I turned off the road first, I’d be giving in and this time next year I’d be an East Coaster preparing for a winter that would freeze my ass off while scraping ten pounds of snow off my windshield every morning.

So even though I slept like crap during those two nights away, I told myself that she’d be back before the week was out.

On Tuesday, the insurance company notified us that we were required to show up for on-site depositions. There was also talk of preparing terms of settlement, but I was firmly against settling a lawsuit. To do so would be to admit guilt or responsibility, which I firmly denied.

I trusted Joe, my lawyer, when he said that we basically had to do whatever the insurance company required of us. So we were off to New York City for the next week. It all happened so fast that I was booked on a flight within hours, along with Jordan and Joe. I messaged my housekeeper, who packed my suitcase and had it delivered to the office. We’d be leaving straight from the office, since it was close to John Wayne Airport, on a dinner flight that night, to arrive sometime after midnight local time.