Chapter 32 Tristan
TRISTAN
Tristan felt the moment that Haisley went cold against his side and he immediately ran back over everything he’d said.
“I just assumed you would come home with me,” he started to stammer as she took her hand back to cross her arms and stare at him.
“And give up my entire life here?”
“Shifting Sands has lots of jobs available!” Tristan said desperately. “Your boss literally kicked you out at the last minute before Christmas. Why wouldn’t you want to come to a hot tropical island with your soulmate?” Was he wrong about this? His bear was confused.
“Maybe I love it here! Maybe I want to stay here!”
“In Alaska?”
“What’s wrong with Alaska?”
“It makes my face hurt to go outside!” Tristan protested. “Did you think I was going to give up a dream job in paradise to move here?”
Uh-oh, Tristan’s bear said.
It was the wrong thing to say, and Tristan didn’t know how to un-say it. “I’m sorry, it just makes the most sense that we would move to Shifting Sands. I should have asked, I guess, but I just thought it was really obvious.”
Haisley bristled at him. “Maybe I don’t love working for the guy I work for, and maybe this job isn’t at a fancy resort for shifters-only, which by the way, did you think might be really awkward for me to work at as a boring old human?
But I love this place, and I love Alaska, and I even love how it makes my face hurt, and maybe if you don’t know that about me, you don’t know me nearly as well as you thought you did! ”
“Obviously I don’t!” Tristan said. He hastily followed with, “But I want to! I want to know all about you and figure out why you love this place and maybe love it, too.”
Haisley looked like she still wanted to be angry but wasn’t sure if she was, so Tristan pressed on. “I want to be where you are. If you don’t want to come to Shifting Sands Resort, I’ll stay here. It’s more important that we’re together than where we are.”
Haisley pursed her lips and glared at him for a long moment, then sighed.
“Well, I can’t be mad at you after you say all that nice stuff, can I?
But you don’t get to decide if I’m leaving with you, and even if you thought I was, you should have at least said so, so that I could start thinking about it.
I’m not saying I will or won’t, yet. I’m going to go take a shower, now that I don’t have to worry about everyone hearing me, and figure out what to do. ”
A shower? Tristan’s bear loved water.
“A shower by myself,” Haisley amended, as if she could hear him. Maybe Tristan had looked hopeful.
“Cinnamon rolls will be ready soon,” Tristan suggested, as if it was a peace offering.
“I’ll be out,” Haisley said. “But you know, this would have been much easier if you had all just been black market animal smugglers.”