it out in the open.”
He was the most upfront person she knew. She’d never seen him so distracted. Was something wrong?
“Charlie?”
He set the photo down, turned and faced her. His expression was clouded, which was odd. Charlie never tried to keep his feelings from her. He’d never had to. He knew she was as crazy about him as he was about her.
Only right now, at this moment, he didn’t look like a man who was crazy about her. He looked like a man who was torn by whatever he was about to say, a man who was about to deliver earth-shattering news.
Fear seized Savannah’s heart and she struggled to get enough oxygen into her constricted lungs.
“Charlie?” she repeated, this time with more urgency.
“Have a seat, Savannah.”
She made her way to her sofa. Slowly, she sat down and waited for him to tell her what was going on. She didn’t like his odd behavior, didn’t like that he hadn’t greeted her with smiles the way he generally did, didn’t like the way her heart worked overtime.
Where was her loving, kind, generous, open lover of the past year? The man whose entire face would light with happiness when he saw her? The man whose eyes would eat her up with possessiveness and desire and magical feel-good vibes?
The man avoiding looking directly at her looked as if he was about to deliver the news that she had a terminal illness or something just as devastating.
What if...? Her hands trembled.
Oh, God. Please don’t let something be wrong with Charlie. Please, no.
Not now. Not ever.
“I’m leaving.”
His two simple words echoed around the room, not registering in Savannah’s mind.
“What?” Her chest muscles contracted tightly around her ribcage as she tried to process what he was saying, her brain still going to something possibly being wrong with him. “What do you mean that you’re leaving?”
His expression guarded, he shrugged. “I’m leaving Chattanooga. I’ve taken a cardiology position at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville on the heart failure team and I’m moving there as soon as I can get everything arranged. I turned my notice in at the hospital today.”
Her ears roared. What he was saying didn’t make sense. “You’re leaving the hospital?”
He nodded. “I’m working out a two months’ notice, during which time I’ll be relocating to Nashville.”
“But...your house.” The house she’d imagined them raising their child in. The big backyard. The nice neighborhood close to good schools. The large rooms. Perfect for a family.
“I’ll put it up for sale. I only bought it because I knew I could turn it for a profit. I never meant to stay there. It’s way too big for my needs.”
Never meant to stay. Too big for his needs. Savannah’s head spun.
He’d never meant to stay.
Nothing he said made sense. Not to her way of thinking. Not to the promises she’d seen in his eyes, felt in his touch.
“You’ve always known you’d leave Chattanooga?”
She liked Chattanooga. The mountains. The river. The nightlife. The people. The town. She liked it. Chattanooga was home, where she wanted to be.
“I’ve never stayed in one place more than a few years and even once I’m in Nashville, if the opportunity comes along to further my career elsewhere, I’ll move.”
Her brain didn’t seem to be processing anything correctly. Perhaps it was baby brain. Perhaps it was that he’d dropped the bottom out of her world.
“This is about your career?” she asked slowly, trying to make sure she understood what he was saying.
Because she didn’t understand anything he was saying.
He was happy in Chattanooga. Why would he willingly leave? Why hadn’t she known he planned to leave some day?
“I’ve taken a teaching and research position at the university and a prestigious position at the hospital. It’s a great opportunity.”
What he said registered. Sort of. “You’re moving to Nashville?”
He nodded. “The hospital is offering a relocation package. Hopefully, I’ll find something to buy or rent within the next few weeks so I can be settled in prior to starting.”
“Hopefully,” she mumbled a little sarcastically.
He was leaving. Not once had he said a word to her about the possibility that he might leave. Not once had he mentioned that he was looking for another job. That he’d consider another job even if it was handed to him on a silver platter.
He’d made the decision without even discussing it with her. Her mother, family, and friends were here. She didn’t want to move to Nashville. Upset didn’t begin to cover it.
“I don’t want to live two hours away from the man I’m dating,” she pointed out what she thought should be obvious. “I like that I see you every morning, that we work out together, that I get to see you from time to time at work, that I get to grab dinner with you, that you get to kiss me goodnight almost every single night.” Did she sound whiny? If so, too bad. She felt whiny. And angry. How could he take a job in Nashville? “That’s not going to happen if you’re in Nashville and I’m in Chattanooga. Do you expect me to just sit around waiting for you to have time to come home or that I’m going to be commuting back and forth to Nashville between shifts?”
He regarded her for long moments, his expression guarded. “I don’t expect you to do either.”
What he was saying hit her.
A knife twisted in her heart and she instantly rejected the idea.
That couldn’t be what he meant.
Of course that was what he was saying. That he’d not even mentioned he was thinking about moving, about taking a different job, that she hadn’t warranted that tidbit of information, spoke volumes. He was breaking up with her.
“You’ve never mentioned that you planned to move.” Her words sounded lame even to herself. So what? She was reeling.
Reeling.
Maybe he meant for her to go with him. Maybe he wasn’t ending things. Maybe she’d jumped to all the wrong conclusions when he’d said he was leaving. Maybe he looked so stressed because he was worried she wouldn’t go with him.
The reality was she didn’t want to move to Nashville. She loved her job and coworkers at Chattanooga Memorial Hospital. She wanted to stay in her hometown, to be near her family, her friends, all the things that were familiar. She wanted to raise her baby near her home, where her child would grow up knowing her family and being surrounded by their love.
Her
