And every morning he'd come out of sleep groggy, a vision of her beside him filling his head. And then he'd open his eyes and reality would give him a brutal smackdown.
He was alone, and he hated it.
But he also hated the position she'd put him in.
Marriage.
There it was hanging between them, and not even that long after they'd talked about it. And he couldn't wrap his head around why she'd want him to commit to an institution he didn't believe in. One so fraught with risk it was practically a curse.
And now they were both alone.
How the hell was that better? How did being apart make any sense when they were in love? When they were going to have a baby?
She'd moved out that very first night, taking only a single bag with her. She'd returned the next day while he was at work, and he'd come home to find all evidence of her gone. The reality had almost shattered him, but what had truly fucked him up was when Brent had arrived a few minutes later, let himself into the apartment, then settled onto Reece's couch with a beer from Reece's fridge.
And then his friend had had the nerve to tell Reece he needed to take a short leave from The Fix. "You need to stay away until after the contest. Too much stress on Jenna. And Ty and Cam can cover you as manager."
"I have an ownership interest in that place," Reece had said. "I'm not staying away."
"Don't stay away because of the bar. Stay away because of her. She needs space."
"Does she? Well, maybe I need her."
Brent had sighed, then looked at Reece with something like pity. "Don't be an ass, buddy. Not any more than you already have been."
Reece had snapped. "You think I should marry her. You? After everything that happened with Olivia, you're going to champion marriage?" The irony was mind-boggling.
"For the two of you? Yeah, I am. I know you. I know Jenna. And I can see clearly even if you can't."
Reece had walked out of his own apartment. The last thing he'd needed was Brent quarterbacking his life from the sideline.
It had taken him a day or two, but he'd cooled down, and he went to Brent's house to see her. She wasn't there.
"She said she didn't want to put herself between us," Brent said as Reece hoisted Faith, then held her strong little body close. "She's staying with Amanda."
"Did you and Aunt Jenna have a fight?" Faith asked.
"Not a fight," Reece told her. "A philosophical difference."
"What's that?" she'd asked.
"The same thing as a fight, as far as I'm concerned," Brent had said. "The end result sure as hell looks the same."
"Daddy! You said hell."
"Yeah, well, sometimes grownups make mistakes." He took the child from Reece's arms. "Sometimes, they can fix them."
After that, Reece had tried to contact Jenna at Amanda's, but she wouldn't answer his calls or texts, and when he called Amanda's business line, Jenna still wouldn't take his call.
"She says to tell you that she's not punishing you," Amanda assured him. "She sent you an email."
Now, the memory clung to him, still raw and painful. He was sitting at his kitchen table, and he pulled out his phone, then pulled up the flagged email for the billionth time.
Reece,
I'm sorry. I know you've tried to reach me, but I just can't. I swear I'm not trying to punish or hurt you by avoiding you. But the truth is that I want you too much to see you.
The thing is, I know how I feel. How I've always felt, and what I've always wanted. I feel what's right, as if the truth were in my bones. But you can make me forget myself, and if I see you, I might cave. You have a certain effect on me...