She stood, watching, as Grey worked. When he’d finished, he returned the poker and turned to face her.
“I’m sorry, Cora.”
She blinked at him in surprise. “What on earth for?”
“I should’ve been there when Flynn came by that night. I never should’ve left on a picking trip until you’d completely recovered from the surgery.” He released a heavy sigh. “I was stupid and clueless.”
“We both were, Grey. We were both young, confused, and dealing with a lot. I should have told you or asked you to stay. I should’ve confronted Flynn at the time instead of letting him get the best of my self-confidence.” All of those were things she’d agonized over for years. This was the first time, though, that thinking about them didn’t immediately fill her with regret or anger. If nothing else resulted from this weekend, being free of some of that made the trip worthwhile. Although if she didn’t have to deal with drama for a while, that would be great.
She didn’t realize she’d started to smile until Grey returned it. “What?”
“It felt good to finally tell Flynn what I thought of him.” She laughed and then covered her mouth and looked toward the stairs. It was doubtful anyone could hear them, but she had to remember they weren’t alone in the cabin.
“I know exactly what you mean.” He sobered. “I do hope he can get the interview rescheduled, though.”
“I do, too.”
They were both silent again for several moments. Cora’s eyes suddenly felt tired and heavy.
Grey gave her another little smile. “We should go get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day. With any luck, we’ll be back in our own places by this time tomorrow.”
Cora ought to be relieved about that, but going their separate ways also meant losing touch with Grey again. The thought depressed her. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll end up on the same plane back to DFW.”
“You never know.” Grey took several steps toward her before stopping. “You asked if I thought we’d given up too easily.”
Cora nodded, her gaze transfixed on his face.
“I don’t know about that, but I do know that if I could go back in time, I’d do things differently.”
Chapter Thirteen
All Grey could hear was the hum of the heater and the sound of his own heart beating in his ear. He meant what he said about doing things differently. “I would’ve stayed home more. I never would’ve left you while you were still recovering from your surgery.”
Cora looked hesitant as she pulled her lower lip in between her teeth; a quirk that always drove him to distraction. Even now, it made him want to kiss her until every worry faded away.
She nodded, her gaze finally settling on his face. “I would have done things differently, too. I don’t know that it would’ve changed the ending to our story, but at least I wouldn’t have so many regrets.” Her voice broke.
Grey took another step closer. He slowly studied her face, from her expressive eyes down to her red lips and back again. Before he gave himself a chance to analyze what he was feeling, or talk himself out of it, he lowered his head and allowed his lips to gently caress hers. That kiss was their only point of contact until Cora’s hand traveled across his shoulder and rested on the back of his neck.
He wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer and deepening the kiss. Everything else faded away. In that moment, there was no worrying about getting on a plane tomorrow, or what it might mean once they got back home. There was no divorce. In that moment, there was only holding Cora and marveling at howrightit felt, more so than anything he’d experienced since they’d gone their separate ways.
When their kiss ended, he placed another to her forehead.
She pressed her palms against his chest. “Grey…”
And the doubt in her voice brought all those things that had faded away crashing back into the room with them. He knew everything she was going to say, and his own doubts only echoed them back.
Cora took a step backwards. “I can’t do this.” She looked at him then, her eyes pleading for him to understand. “Wecan’t do this. Not again.”
Grey wanted to argue with her but said nothing for several moments. Finally, he took in a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “Common sense tells me that you’re right.” He reached for her hand. “But I don’t want to go through the rest of my life wondering if it might have turned out differently if we’d only given us another shot.”
His words brought tears to her eyes. “And if we fail? I don’t know that I can go through losing us again. Grey, those first two years after the divorce were horrible. I lost my best friend, my husband, and the only real family I ever had.” She sniffed. “This weekend was wonderful in many ways, but it was also a reminder of what I don’t have any more. I can’t step into that world only to have it crumble out from under me again.”
Grey’s chest ached. “I don’t want to add another notch to the regret list, and I think walking away from each other will do just that.”
“Then where does that leave us?” The words were spoken sadly as she withdrew her hand from his and buried it in her pocket.
Grey’s mind struggled to make sense of their situation. In that moment, he knew Dare had been right. Grey was still very much in love with his ex-wife. The only thing he was certain of was that if he let her go now, it would prove to be one of the biggest mistakes he could make.
