“No, I’m not leaving where I am. I just… I’m just sad for no good reason. And I’m tired.”
“I thought the mountains helped you with that.”
“Usually yes, but this time? Not so much.”
My heart shrivels in my chest. Grace is already miserable, and she’s not even been with me for a full twenty-four hours. I knew this would happen. I fucking told her this was a bad idea.
I numbly head back down to my bedroom. Sinking onto the corner of my bed, I brace my hand onthe post and try to breathe. Okay. New plan. I’ll just tell her that something’s come up and that I’m really sorry, but she has to go. I’ll load her car, kiss her goodbye, and that’s that. No hard feelings.
Better to kick her out on my terms than let her abandon me when I’m least expecting it. If I can manage to hold my shit together so she can’t see how devastated I am, she won’t feel guilty and try to stay for my sake.
Fucking Hell.
I don’t want her to leave. Ever.
Maybe I misunderstood what she was saying. I mean, she’s tired, right? We both got up before dawn and haven’t stopped all day. Hell, we haven’t stopped since we met. Either I’m working or fucking her. The poor thing hasn’t had a minute to breathe. She came up here for peace and quiet and I’ve not let her have it. Maybe I should just back off and give her more breathing space. Yeah. Definitely. Being in separate rooms tonight wasn’t a dick move, it was the right one.
Grace’s sudden laugh carries through the cabin.
My pitiful ass hops back up, that seed of hope in my heart breaking through the dirt when I hear her laugh again, even louder. Oscar watches me from her bed by the fireplace as I creep back up the steps. Staying still against the side of her door, I listen again.
“If he found out you’ve done this, he’d go ballistic.”
“Which means you can’t tell Kerrington and Landon either.” Grace says to her friend. “You know how they get.”
Who the ever-loving fuck are Kerrington and Landon? And who else is she talking about?
“I’ll divert them,” her friend says.
“Take one for the team.”
“I’ll be takingtwo.”
Christ, how many are there total? Jealousy rears in my gut, making me want to scream.
“So, he’s nice, huh?”
“He’s so different from what we’re used to,” Grace says, and I’m plastered against the door listening harder. “He even has huge callouses on his hands.”
They’re not that big, I think, checking out my palms.
The woman on the line groans. “I bet they feel rough and amazing on your thighs.”
“They’re amazingeverywhere.”
They both laugh.
“Your mother will have a coronary if she finds out, Gracie.”
“I know.”
Why? I might not be made of money, but I’m a good fucking person. Wouldn’t Grace’s mother want that for her daughter?
“I kind of want to tell her, just to see her head explode,” her friend says.
“Can you imagine what family dinner would look like if he came with me?”
“In a flannel shirt, I’d hope.”
