And more than anything, he realized he was totally over traveling. He’d done it for so long that he never gave it much of a thought. It was just part of his job. But he’d put a big part of his life on hold to do that job. He hadn’t had a serious relationship of any kind in too many years.

Spending several months at home on Nantucket and especially seeing his parents regularly was a gift. It made him realize that time was precious and for his mother, it was slipping away, and he didn’t want to have regrets when she passed that he didn’t see her enough. He wasn’t sure how he was going to make it happen, but he knew his current work life wasn’t sustainable.

It needed to change. He needed to change. The question was how? He decided to approach finding a solution the same way he would approach it for any of his clients. Assess his options, identify possibilities and put a plan into action. He just needed to figure out what that plan would be.

Chapter 38

“Cami and her co-star Cameron are inseparable, and sources say an engagement announcement could come any day!” The cover of Stars magazine showed a picture of Bella and some pretty blond actor sitting in a car at an In-and-Out Burger. Aunt Vivian pushed the copy of the magazine toward Nick and he shoved it away so hard that it slid off the table.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and they were all sitting around the dining room table. They’d already eaten dinner and moved on to drinking coffee and snacking on coffee cake for dessert.

“I just thought you’d want to know, honey,” Aunt Vivian said.

“I appreciate that,” Nick said slowly. “But the media lies. You can’t believe anything. That’s what Bella always says.”

His mother sipped her coffee and then weighed in. “We just worry about you honey. This all happened so fast with Bella. She seems lovely, but you really don’t know her well. Maybe she has moved on and it makes sense she’d pick someone in the industry who understands what she is going through. Maybe it’s time for you to do the same thing.”

“What are you saying?” Nick tried not to sound as angry as he felt at the suggestion. He knew his mother loved him and meant well. But she just didn’t understand how he felt about Bella and how she felt about him. They were in love and it was real.

“Just that it might not be real, honey. She was here on vacation. For an escape from reality. And she met you and liked you a lot, but you might be part of that fantasy, a vacation fling. I just wouldn’t put so much weight on it lasting. You have a lot of strikes against you. And many miles.”