I’m scared I’m just another part of the detour.
I run a hand over my face, the weight of it all pressing down on me. I know what I need to do.
I need to tell her. That this isn’t just casual sex for me. That I see a future with her, right here, on this mountain. That I want her in my bed every night. In my life. Forever.
And then I need to call Jake and tell him his little sister is mine.
But not today.
Today, I just want to pretend a little longer. That she’s not leaving. That when I wake up tomorrow and the day after, she’ll still be here. That this is real and not just casual sex as she asked for
I hear the cabin door open behind me.
“Morning,” Bree’s voice is soft, a little husky from sleep. She’s wrapped in my flannel shirt, her hair a mess, her bare legs peeking out beneath the hem.
I want to drag her back to bed, but I smile instead. “Morning, sweetheart.”
She leans against the railing beside me, sipping her coffee. We sit in comfortable silence, watching the sun rise over the trees.
I could do this every day for the rest of my life.
I just need her to want it too.
Chapter 22: Bree
Idon’t want to say it, but I have to.
The cabin is fixed. There’s no more reason for me to stay at Scott’s.
Except, there is.
Scott.
I glance over at him as he works on tightening the last screws on my front porch railing. God, I love watching him work.
I also love the way he hands me my coffee every morning exactly how I like it, even though he grumbles that sugar is the devil. I love how he brushes my hair off my face when we’re tangled together after sex. I love how he looks at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention, like I’m his.
I feel like his. The problem is, we never talked about being anything more than this arrangement. Casual sex. It was my idea and now I’m regretting it. I want way more than casual with Scott.
I spent the morning with Clara at her coffee shop while Scott worked on the final touches at my cabin. I asked her what she thought. Should I ask to stay with him longer, here on the mountain? Could we be more?
She’d smiled that knowing smile, the one that made me feel like she already knew everything, and said, “Honey, men like Scott, they’re simple, but stubborn. He might not say it first, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel it. You follow your heart. And if your heart says stay, you damn well better tell him.”
So here I am, standing on my finished porch, knowing that tonight is my last night at his cabin unless I speak up. But I’m scared. Because what if I’m wrong? What if this was just sex to him? What if I’m reading into things that aren’t there?
What if I ask to stay, and he doesn’t want me? I’d rather walk away now with these memories than hear him say no and shatter everything we’ve built. I just need to give him a push t see where his head is at maybe?
So, I open my mouth, and the wrong words come out.
“This will be my last night.”
Scott freezes. His hand tightens around the screwdriver like he wants to snap it in half. He turns slowly, his eyes narrowing, but his face is carefully blank.
“What?”
I force a smile, though it feels like my chest is cracking. “The cabin’s done. I’ll head back to the city in the next few weeks.”
What the hell. I don't want that, but it's like I had to give him an out. Besides, I couldn't stick around. I needed to get away from Scott. To remember he isn't mine. Not fully. Just for this short time only.
