Chapter Five #2
My hand rubbed her back in slow, lazy circles. I loved the sensation of her smooth skin contrasting with my rougher work hands. “What else is on your list?” I found myself craving more information about her.
“Mm. Traveling to Australia, Hawaii, and Tahiti. Bungee jumping, skydiving, swimming in the Iceland hot springs, learning how to knit, seeing the northern lights, learning another language, and riding a horse. To name a few.”
Damn. The way she’d rattled off everything made me wonder how often she thought about these things. There seemed to be an underlying wistful sadness in her voice. “What’s stopping you?”
“I suppose it was my priorities that stopped me. You’ve heard the saying ‘stop and smell the roses.’ I just didn’t.” There was regret in her tone.
“It’s not too late. This reset must mean you’re reevaluating?”
She snapped out of whatever she’d been dwelling on. “It’s definitely put things in perspective. Anyhow, how about you? What’s something on your bucket list?”
“I like the idea of traveling someday.” Although I’d hadn’t yet taken time off from making my business successful. “On top of the list would be building my own home. Or at least gutting a house to make it my own.”
“From what I’ve seen with this house, you do quality work.”
I snuggled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.” I certainly prided myself on doing a professional job.
Because I didn’t want this to be our last night together, I had to ask. “What do you think about dinner Friday night? I could take you out or cook one of the two dishes I’m halfway decent at making.”
Her entire body immediately stiffened. “I can’t,” she whispered.
Disappointment hit me hard. “Can’t because you have other plans or because you don’t want more than tonight?”
Her sigh echoed in the room before she spoke. “I’m leaving on Friday.”
“What do you mean you’re leaving? Are you moving back to LA?”
“No. I’m taking a temporary assignment somewhere else.”
“To do what?” I was tamping down my frustration, aware we had absolutely no commitment to one another. But why couldn’t we see where this went?
She sat up. “I wish I could tell you, but it’s confidential.”
My head wasn’t wrapping around what she was saying. “Confidential? Is it for your job?”
“Not for the one I had, but it will be my full-time gig going forward, yes. I’m not trying to be rude by not telling you, I promise. But I can’t.”
I could see regret on her face and didn’t doubt her sincerity. “Okay. How long are you gone for?”
In my mind, I thought she might be away for a week or two. Her next words floored me.
“One year. At least. Maybe longer.”
Now it was my turn to sit up. I searched her eyes. “You’re serious.”
She inhaled a shaky breath. “Afraid so. I didn’t tell you last night because—”
“You didn’t think you’d be seeing me again,” I finished for her, finding a bitter taste in my mouth. Whether that was due to the reminder she’d gone into this with the intention of only a one-night stand or because of the news she was leaving, I couldn’t be sure.
“I’m sorry. I should go.” She moved to get out of the bed, but I pulled her to me.
“Please don’t. I’m processing. Can you tell me where in the world you’re going?”
She shook her head. “Afraid not. It’s classified.”
“As in government classified?”
Her gaze leveled on mine. “If it was, I couldn’t tell you.”
Right. It shouldn’t bother me. “Do I get to guess?”
“You can try, but even if you got it, I can’t tell you. I know this sounds crazy and, again, I’m sorry.”
It was crazy. “A little, but I guess I need to accept it.” And I needed to lighten the mood. “I don’t suppose you’re off to be on the latest installment of The Bachelor?”
She lifted a brow, her lips twitching. “For an entire year? Seems rather extreme.”
“Perhaps you could leave The Bachelor, heartbroken you didn’t get a rose, and then go straight into Survivor.”
She laughed, the tension in the room finally dissipating.
Making Layla smile or laugh was now my new favorite challenge. She was beautiful normally, but when she relaxed with a dose of humor, she took my breath away.
“First, I wouldn’t do a show like that unless I was the bachelorette and got to make the choices amongst a bevy of handsome guys, and second, I’m not a very roughing-it kind of girl, so no Survivor. Are you a fan of reality television?”
I shook my head. “The only reality TV I watch is football.”
“Spoken like a man who’d never admit to it.”
“True. So, how about dinner tomorrow night instead?” A voice in the back of my mind warned that getting too attached might not be the best plan, but I ignored it.
“I’m leaving Friday, Kellan.”
“I get it. But if you have the time—and you may not as you’re probably trying to get a lot in this week before you go—then I want to spend it with you.”
“Don’t you have work?”
I did. So much of it that I shouldn’t be planning another date so soon. But I wasn’t opposed to working over the weekend to make up for whatever I lost this week. “I’ll get the hours in on another day.”
She reached out to caress my face. “I just don’t want there to be any expectation of it changing things. Our one-night stand already slid into two.”
“I get it. Let’s call it a three-night stand. And I wouldn’t try to change anything about your dream to work on a world cruise for a year and see exotic places.”
She chuckled, a result I’d hoped for with my new game of guesses. I noticed that her entire body seemed to relax, almost as if her telling me about having to leave had lifted a weight.
“I wish I was off to travel,” she said, “although I’m afraid I’d get seasick on a cruise.” She stopped and grinned. “Okay, I’d love to do dinner. What time?”
Normally, I worked a good twelve- to thirteen-hour day. With my Monday meeting with Carly and her parents in the morning, I had no idea what to expect of tomorrow. But my time with Layla was limited, so I decided to do something very rare. I would take off early. “How about you come over at six?”
“Sounds good. What are you cooking me?”
Given her sense of humor, I knew she wouldn’t take offense when I quipped, “It’s your turn to guess.”