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Gennessey shifted against the car seat for a more comfortable position. “Okay. I know your trips to Charlottesville have increased while Egan’s trips to Grayson Cove have decreased. I know you’ve been getting a lot of non-case-related phone calls. And then, of course, your meetings with Jay. My first guess is you’re looking to move to Charlottesville. The phone calls are potential job opportunities or interviews. And the meetings with Jay are to keep him in the loop with what’s going on since you’ll want to use him as a reference. How close am I to the truth?”
“Just between us…you’re close, but I’m not ready to tell anyone anything. Egan and I do want to get married. I’ve never felt this way about a person before. He knows everything about me, and there’s not another person in the world I can say that about. I don’t want to be away from him any longer than I have to, but there’s a lot to figure out. I need time to do that before I share our plans with anyone.”
“I understand. I won’t say a word. I’m happy for you, Iz. Egan’s a good one, and it’s obvious Mo adores him. I’ve always heard dogs are good judges of character, but Mo is better than most.”
“We’ve had to start sharing custody of Mo. He misses Egan a lot when we’re not together, so I’ve started leaving Mo with him when I’ve got a busy schedule. It’s another reason for us to figure all of this out.”
“Well, I hate to see you leave KSI, but if it’s what’s best for you and Egan and Mo, of course, then you do what you need to do. We love you and support you.”
“I know. I just never expected it to be this hard. It’s never been difficult for me to leave jobs or people when the time was right. I never wanted to stay in one place too long. It always felt boring, and it’s not the life I wanted. But since I met Egan, I realized a life with him would be anything but boring, whether we live here or in Charlottesville. But how can I ask him to leave his patients, and how can he ask me to give up my life here and my work with KSI? There’s no easy answer.”
The two fell silent, and Gennessey mentally thanked the stars for never being in Isobel’s situation where she had to choose love over her career. The women in her family happily sacrificed their dreams to become housewives and mothers. She wasn’t against the idea of starting her own family, but she was against sacrificing what she wanted to make it happen. Her life was her career, and she wasn’t ready to give it up for anything.
“You think I’m making a mistake, don’t you?”
Gennessey shook her head. “That’s not my call. The decision is yours and Egan’s. It’s not a life I want, but I would never tell you not to pursue it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Gennessey turned her head in her friend’s direction. “I honestly don’t believe you are making a mistake. Whatever decision you make, I have no doubt it’s the best choice for you and Egan.”
“That’s not what I meant. I think you want to find love. Falling in love doesn’t mean anything has to change other than you suddenly have someone to share your life with.”
“Tell me someone we know who fell in love and didn’t have their lives changed. Tristin and Kat fell in love and had two kids and retired from the business they built together. Jay fell in love and decided to be the boss instead of working in the field. Sam fell in love and left the Alpha Team for his girlfriend only to regret it once she left him and their son high and dry. There’s you and your situation. Should I go on?”
“There’s a difference in accepting change when you want it and feeling like you have to compromise who you are to change for someone else. When it comes to being with the person you love, you’d be surprised at what you want to do to be with them. You’ll understand when you fall in love.”
“When? No way. Not happening. I’m not cut out for it. I’m married to the job, and I’m content with that. As much as it causes my aunt and my mom distress, it’s the way I want to live my life.”
“That’s great. But if you meet someone who changes your mind about love, don’t be stubborn. If you stick to the way you think your life should be, you could miss out on what it could be.”
The light in the office building window switched off, saving Gennessey from having to comment further. She pointed so Isobel would notice it as well. They only waited a few moments before the owner’s wife left out a side door and their suspect left out the front, a messenger bag slung over his shoulder.
“I’ll follow her. You follow him. We’ll touch base tomorrow.”
Isobel slipped out before Gennessey could reply, but she was glad for her friend’s quick retreat. She was tired of their conversation enough to be glad she had to follow their suspect though she was sure he was only heading home, as he did every night after he stayed after the company closed for the day.
She pulled from the curb, the suspect’s taillights in her sights, and wished she could remove Isobel’s words from her mind as easily.
Chapter Nine
The closer she and BB drove to the hotel, the more her stomach twisted in knots. Their conversation had been casual, but she’d stayed silent for the last few minutes. She was sure BB had questions upon questions about what he was walking into, but he thankfully kept them to himself. Her nerves were too frazzled for her to deal with them.
She reminded herself this visit home was for Cohen. He was her best friend and her partner in crime when she was surrounded by her family’s craziness. She was doing this for him. Otherwise, she would have had BB turn the truck around several miles ago and drive as fast as they could back to Grayson Cove.
“It’s good that we have a room at a hotel. We don’t necessarily have to keep up the pretense when we’re there. That should ease some of your stress.”
She sighed, wishing BB’s observation was accurate. “The hotel is owned by my Uncle James and Aunt Barbara. All of their sons work there too. It’ll be crawling with friends and family the whole time we’re there. Mom wanted us to stay with her and Dad, but I convinced her I would be more useful at the hotel. They’re having the rehearsal dinner there, and as Cohen’s unofficial best man, I can help out with the plans for that.”
“I know I’m pretending to be your boyfriend. I promise I won’t let you down, but is there more I can do? I’m here to make things easier for you, and I can do more than charm your family into liking me.”
Gennessey didn’t have the heart to tell him that even with his charm, he would still have a hard time winning her family over. They were convinced she could do nothing but make bad decisions, and they would assume BB was just another one in a long line of poor choices. His military training may have equipped him to handle hostile situations, but her family was better at inquisitions than any enemy combatant.
“Thanks for the offer, but you only have one job this weekend. And I need you to sell it no matter what. When this weekend’s over, we can go back to the way things were before.”
“Do we have to?”
She turned to study his profile. The curved line of his jaw, the slope of his nose, the curl of his eyelashes, the faint stubble darkening his cheek, the supple lips, the hint of a dimple that she strangely wanted to put her finger in, the broad forehead tickled by a random lock of hair which was the only part out of place. He wore a blue button-up shirt that molded to his muscular shoulders and chest, falling stylishly over the top of his well-worn, well-fitted jeans. The sleeves were casually rolled up to reveal tanned forearms.
