22. Chapter 22 Bree
Chapter 22: Bree
I don’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.
He stares at me like I just slapped him.
“You’re leaving?”
“That was always the plan, right? I was just hiding out here for a while, but it’s time to go back maybe.” I laugh, but it’s shaky. “This was just a thing. An amazing, incredible thing. And I’ll never forget what you’ve shown me, Scott. You’ve changed the way I see myself, the way I experience things. I’m grateful for that.”
His jaw tightens, and his eyes darken, but he says nothing.
I hate this. I hate every word coming out of my mouth. I hate the way he’s looking at me.
But I can’t stop. Because if I don’t say this, I’ll say what’s really in my heart, and that’s too dangerous.
“I should get my stuff together,” I say instead. “Make tonight special. One last time.”
His lips part like he’s about to say something, but then he clamps his mouth shut and nods once, stiffly.
He turns back to the railing, tightening a screw that doesn’t need to be tightened.
I step inside my cabin and close the door behind me, my eyes burning.
I want to stay. I want to be his. But I can’t ask him to want me too. Because if he doesn’t… it’ll break me.