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She smiles up at me. “That would make both of us super happy. He loves hockey.”
“Making you happy is my whole job right now.”
We’re quiet again for a while, and I think she’s falling asleep when she says, “I didn’t give up the partnership with Shandy because of you. I hope you know that. I just don’t like her enough to want to get into business with her.”
“I wanted to talk about that but you said not tonight.”
She chuckles. “Maybe we can talk about a few things tonight.”
“If it’s a good business move, I don’t want you to give it up.”
“It’s not. Alexa Humboldt doesn’t even like her—she just owed her a favor and thought she could kill two birds with one stone because she would definitely bring name recognition to any project she backs. But it wasn’t worth it to me. That decision isn’t changing.”
“What about New Zealand?”
“That’s a lot more complicated. The truth is, I don’t know if I want to spend two years there. Away from my friends, my family. You. Even without you in the picture, it’s daunting. I’m not afraid, but I’ll essentially disappear for eighteen to twenty-four months. Then I’m going to be scrambling to find new work. I’ll have potentially lost the Dusty Peaks job, assuming it’s still going. And there are no guarantees that the New Zealand project will be profitable.”
“It’s Sammy Jensen,” I remind her quietly. “We both know it’s going to do well.”
“There’s a difference between doing well and making life-changing money. And honestly, if I have to choose between New Zealand and you, I choose you. Every single time.”
“But you don’t have to. You can go and as soon as hockey season is over, I’ll join you. We can go exploring when you’re off. I’ve never been there so I think it would be a hell of an adventure. And if you sell your place in New York, you can invest that money and potentially make a lot more while you’re living in New Zealand.”
“I’ll miss out on so much,” she says. “All your games. Holidays. Birthdays. Other jobs. I honestly don’t know if it’s a worthwhile trade-off.”
“Just promise me you’ll give it serious consideration. You can’t say no because of me.”
“And how are we going to handle being apart for all that time? We can avoid the elephant in the room but we both know not prioritizing each other was what killed your marriage.”
“You know what? I don’t think it was. I think what killed the marriage is that she didn’t love me. Plain and simple. That just isn’t the case with us. I love and trust you, Maya. And I hope you trust me. If you decide to go, we’ll make it work. And you have to get a little time off to come home, right? I’m sure the actors are going to want to be with their families over the holidays.”
“Yeah.” She’s thoughtful. “They’ll most likely close production for a few weeks during the holidays. Maybe longer.”
“See?”
“Why do you want me to do this?” she asks finally.
“Because you’re amazing. Because it could change your life.”
“And if it flops?”
“I’m pretty sure everyone in the film industry experiences that. It happens. But you’ll have me to keep you grounded, both emotionally and financially. My rent is dirt cheap right now and there is no reason to change anything while you’re gone. We’ll save up and when that project is over, we’ll discuss buying a house somewhere.”
She’s quiet. “Can we decide later? I’m really sleepy.”
“You can decide whenever you want. I just need you to know that I’ll be here no matter what.”
“I love you, Cash.”
“I love you too.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Epilogue
Maya
