Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
The end of the year was fast approaching, and Kat hadn’t discussed her plans for how she wanted to approach her father about a new corporate location.
Leo scratched at the back of his neck as he hovered in the new therapy building while Kat continued to jot down notes regarding their progress.
To the outside world, she was still the cutthroat businesswoman her father had raised her to be.
Their time together was swiftly coming to a close. The contractors had done a good job—better than good, they’d been exceptional at getting the project completed on time. Soon Kat would be returning to New York and Leo wasn’t entirely sure she was going to come back.
His palms were clammy as he continued to observe her. She was a vision even in her jeans and boots as she spoke to the foreman regarding the final touches they’d be working on in the next coming weeks.
And all Leo could do was fret about the possibility that Kat had changed her mind.
He needed to know where they stood.
Was she going to stay even if her father refused her suggestion to build a new location? Heck, while it was built, would she even be here to oversee it? His brain was working in overdrive as he considered every single thing that could go wrong.
Leo hadn’t wanted to push her too hard. Up until their little escapades in the snow, Kat had been determined to return home and never look back. But then she’d offered him a grain of hope.
Dang it all!
He was obsessing now. He couldn’t get her out of his head and it was starting to mess with his sleeping habits.
Dragging a hand down his face, he turned away from where Kat stood and came face to face with Tripp.
His cousin smirked. “How’s it going, cousin?”
Leo couldn’t even muster a smile. After that wedding date, he’d put Tripp in his place. Thankfully, his cousin had stopped pushing his buttons when it came to Kat and gave them the space Leo had needed to win Kat over.
But now there were bigger issues at play.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Not great.”
That had Tripp’s smile fleeing his face and he glanced over Leo’s shoulder to where Kat stood in her meeting. “Trouble in paradise?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, she’s leaving in just over a month, right? Maybe it’s best if you guys cut the cord now, instead of—”
“There will be no cutting the cord,” Leo snapped. “We’re not going to just throw away what we have because she has to head back to New York.”
Tripp arched an eyebrow and folded his arms. “I never pegged you as the kind of guy who could do a long-distance relationship.”
Leo winced. No, he wasn’t that kind of guy.
Long distance wasn’t worth the heartache in most cases and ended badly in the rest. He shot a look in Kat’s direction.
But for her, Leo would do just about anything.
Especially if it meant he’d end up winning her over in the end. “I don’t know what to do, Tripp.”
His cousin studied him for a long moment. “If I were you, I’d just end it while you’re on—” He snapped his mouth shut and actually had the decency to look ashamed of even mentioning the option. “How much do you really care about her?” he asked quietly.
“I…” The word love was on the tip of his tongue. He hadn’t said it out loud, not to himself, not to anyone else. And yet that one word was the perfect way to describe how he felt about the woman who had infiltrated his heart. Maybe it was crazy, but it was true. “I’m in love with her,” he muttered.
Tripp let out a low whistle. “Okay, so let me ask you this. If you love her, do you love her enough to pick up the life you have here and follow her anywhere?”
Leo’s head snapped up so fast that a sharp pain shot through his neck at the movement. “What?”
“Do you love her enough—”
“I heard what you said. You can’t be serious. This… this is home.”
“And her home is in New York.” Tripp said it so easily—like those words weren’t the double-edged sword that they truly were.
“I’ve never been in love,” Tripp admitted.
“But I know enough about it to understand that true love comes with sacrifice. You can’t claim to love that woman if you’re unwilling to move heaven and earth for her. ”
Leo scowled at Tripp then. He wanted to hate him for what he’d said. But the problem was he made a good point. If Leo wasn’t prepared to move to New York, then was he really in love with Kat?
The ache in his chest as he thought of the possibility of losing her made him want to believe he loved her.
But the truth remained. He couldn’t see himself moving anywhere.
When he envisioned his future, he saw himself raising his family here—with all his cousins and their children.
He wanted to share a life with Kat that was full of laughter and unconditional love. He wanted to give her everything.
Swallowing down the painful lump in his throat, he nodded. “You’re right. But I think there’s another way.”
His cousin stared at him expectantly.
“Maybe she just needs me to help her see that this is the best place for us—that I can help her and make both of our dreams come true.”
“Leo—” Tripp started, but he was cut off by Kat’s voice.
“You ready?”
Leo turned to find a smiling Kat, her bright expression saying everything.
The meeting had gone well. She was in good spirits.
She loved being here. So why wasn’t she willing to talk about her plans?
He’d asked her a couple times about how she’d broach the subject or if she’d brought it up with her father to which she’d shut him down.
There was too much going on with the project here and those back home was one argument.
Then she’d insisted her idea wasn’t something she could discuss over the phone.
Her father deserved to look her in the face when she gave him her idea.
She would be leaving everything she knew in the city and that meant she needed a comprehensive plan.
And yet she wouldn’t give him details on whether or not she’d even started such a thing.
“You okay?” Kat murmured, stepping closer, her hand reaching for his forearm as if she could offer him some comfort simply by her touch. Was it bad that it worked?
“I’m fine,” he insisted with a small smile. “How did your meeting go?”
“Same as usual. He’s really good at what he does.” Kat smiled. “I wish we had someone like him at every job site.”
Leo felt his own smile returning. “Things are just better in Montana.” He could tell himself that he’d made the comment to be lighthearted, but even he knew why he’d said it.
And his tone of voice hadn’t helped either.
That statement had been one of the most passive aggressive things he could have said.
And Kat had noticed.
She frowned. “Leo,” she murmured.
“It’s fine, Kat.”
“Clearly it isn’t.”
“What do you want me to say?” Leo muttered. “It’s been a few weeks and you haven’t brought up your plans to move out here.”
“I never said I’d move out here,” she stammered.
That had his eyes narrowing. “Well, what was all that talk about starting another corporate location out here?”
She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Kat clearly didn’t want to argue about this, but they’d both gotten to the point where they had to discuss it or it would fester like an infected wound. “Leo, I’m still going to talk to my father about opening a location out here.”
“What does that mean, exactly? Would you be running it?”
“I don’t know.”
He frowned.
“I want to,” she amended before he could comment.
Her eyes locked with his and she reached for his hand, slipping her fingers between his.
“And yeah, that would be the ideal outcome. But the fact is, there are too many moving parts. I don’t know if my father would be up for that sort of scenario—at first.”
Leo fought the instinct to panic. Things had been going so well between them. Their plans for the future had been a light at the end of the tunnel. But now Kat was backtracking. “Are you saying you don’t want to move out here, anymore?”
“No, I’m not saying that,” she said quietly. “I’m saying that I don’t…” She blew out a breath. “I don’t want to get your hopes up.”
He held onto her hand tighter. “But they’re your hopes, too, right?”
Emotion shone in her eyes. “Yes,” she rasped.
Leo brought her hand to his lips. “Then that’s all that matters to me.”
She nodded. “I’ll be taking a trip to New York in two weeks. This project won’t be complete so I’ll be coming back, but my dad needs me there for some end of year meetings.”
He nodded absently, his thoughts already running away from him. She’d be going to New York for some meetings. That meant she’d be seeing Chaz.
His lip curled at the thought of the man. It had been too nice having Kat here without the man’s presence hovering over them. He clearly had feelings for Kat. What would happen when she was in New York and Leo couldn’t be there to remind her of what they had? “I want to go with you.”
“What? No.”
“No?” he practically choked on the word. “Why not?”
“It’s not necessary, Leo. You’d be bored. It’s not like you could attend any of those meetings—”
“But I’d be able to spend time with you when you weren’t working.”
She gave him a pointed look. “I barely have time off when I’m there, Leo. It’s not like it is here. I’m in meetings all day and I’m juggling so much. I practically fall into bed the second I get home.”
His jaw clenched. He wanted to believe her. What she said made sense. But his insecurities were rearing their ugly heads. Was she trying to put distance between them? Didn’t he mean enough to her? Even one hour a day in each other’s presence would be better than nothing at all, right?
“Leo,” she cooed. “It’s going to be fine. I’ll make sure to schedule a meeting with my dad about building a location out here. I’ll give him all the reasons it’s a smart plan for business. Then when I get back, we can talk about how it went. Besides, you’d only be a distraction if you were there.”
He wasn’t proud of the reaction her words instilled in him.
Leo smirked and pulled her body flush with his, not caring who might witness their interaction.
He’d gotten the feeling that everyone suspected they were more anyway.
Heck, even Jane had given him the look when he’d asked where Kat was the other day.
Leo brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Yeah?” he whispered. “And what kind of distraction would that be?”
Her quick inhale of breath had his stomach knotting deliciously. Dang, he loved how he affected her. Kat sighed and her body all but melted into him. “I think you know.”
“But I want you to tell me,” he whispered next to her ear before he nibbled on her lobe.
She gasped. “Leo…” There was a tinge of warning in her tone, but more than that was the desire he’d gotten used to lately.
“What?”
Kat pulled back and stared at him. “I promise we’ll talk about this after I discuss it with my father, okay?” She pressed a palm to his cheek. “Don’t worry.”
Easier said than done.
Leo nodded, turning to press a kiss to her palm. “Okay.”