Chapter 14 #2
“Um…kind of early, I think. Maybe six? Double-check with Lexi. She’s organizing everything.”
“Will do. I’ll see you later.” And without another word, he turned and went back to packing up his things.
It was going to suck saying goodbye to all his friends again, but at least there was something distracting happening tonight.
And maybe it would be enough to make him forget how much he was going to miss all of this.
But not enough for him to forget how he was going to be leaving a part of his heart behind.
Once he was done, he carried his box of stuff out, stopping in the doorway to look back at his office. The decor wasn’t like he had originally planned, but somehow it had turned out better than he expected.
It reminded him of when he first started his company.
His dream had been to have an office in Silicon Valley, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing panned out.
That’s when he took a trip to Seattle and, like some sort of miracle, things started falling into place—his technologies, his team, and office space.
Looking back, he knew he wouldn’t have thrived in California the way he did in Washington, so that was just another example of things turning out better than he expected.
Why didn’t he think about things like this more?
Dude, you’re kind of a pessimist. You analyze things and tend to have more of a glass-is-half-empty mindset. At least with your personal life. In business, you don’t let anything stand in your way. I don’t get why you can’t think that way all the time.
He hated that Slater had a point.
Walking down the hall, he stopped outside Lexi’s office.
She was on a call and when she spotted him, she silently let him know she’d just be a minute.
Milo took advantage of that time to think about the call he’d gotten so many months ago regarding hiring her.
They were all childhood friends, but Lexi and Connor had a very complicated history, and as much as she needed help, she wasn’t sure she could come and work at the same place Connor was.
After all her protests, she arrived, and even though she heavily stipulated that she wanted nothing to do with Connor, they ended up not only getting back together but getting married with a baby on the way.
Again, it turned out better than anyone expected.
He was beginning to notice a pattern.
Maybe him going back to Seattle wasn’t exactly ideal for him and Nora, but…was there something better just waiting for them around the corner? Was this going to lead to something neither of them saw coming? Was it…
“Hey, Milo!” Lexi said, interrupting his thoughts. “What’s up?”
“Oh, uh…I was just curious where we were all meeting for dinner tonight with Axel and Maisie.”
“We’re meeting up in their suite. We were originally planning on going into town to the pub, but we figured you probably had stuff to do since you’re leaving tomorrow, and Maisie said she really just wanted to be back home, so…Connor’s cooking for all of us and thrilled about it.”
That made him laugh softly. “He will be completely in his element.”
“Definitely.” Her phone rang, and she quickly apologized. “I need to take this. We’ll see you and Nora at six!”
Maisie was in the middle of describing Paris when Nora started to feel antsy, like a tiny, gentle tug of impatience she didn’t quite want to admit to herself.
She was all for hanging out with everyone—especially because she knew how important Milo’s friends were to him—but she had secretly hoped they would have the entire night to themselves.
“We took the wrong metro our second night,” Axel was saying, his arm draped easily along the back of Maisie’s chair. “Ended up nowhere near where we meant to be.”
Maisie smiled at him, the kind of smile that held shared history already. “We didn’t even bother figuring it out. Just walked.”
“Across bridges,” Axel added. “Past street musicians. Found this tiny place still open at midnight.”
“The best meal we had the entire trip,” Maisie finished.
Everyone murmured appropriately, glasses lifted, someone laughed softly, but Nora’s attention slid sideways, settling on Milo.
He was listening, really listening. A small smile played at his mouth, thoughtful rather than amused, like he was cataloging the story instead of just hearing it. Like he understood what they weren’t saying out loud—that the magic wasn’t in getting lost, but in choosing not to rush being found.
She felt the clock ticking then..
This was his last night here. Tomorrow he’d board a plane, return to a world of glass buildings and boardrooms and schedules that didn’t bend easily.
And she’d be right here and back in her old routine—up early, kayaking or jet skiing on the lake, and spending the day making sure everyone else was having a good time while she went home alone.
Their friends’ laughter washed over her, warm and familiar, and she loved this—loved them —but her body had already started leaning toward what came next.
Toward a moonlit stroll.
Toward Milo’s hand in hers without an audience.
She shifted slightly so her knee gently brushed his under the table.
He glanced over, met her eyes, and something softened there, an understanding passing between them without words. The kind that only came from knowing each other’s rhythms.
Soon, she told herself. Just a little longer, and then we can leave.
But the thought lingered, gentle and aching: I want you to myself tonight.
Dessert arrived, and with it, the natural lull—plates being set down, conversations branching, someone reaching for the last fork. Nora smiled and laughed in the right places, but her attention had already narrowed.
She felt Milo’s hand settle at the small of her back as he leaned closer, his mouth near her ear.
“Ready?” he murmured.
The word wrapped around her, gentle and unmistakable.
She nodded once. “Yeah.”
They didn’t announce it, didn’t make it a thing.
Milo pushed his chair back first, an unspoken cue, and Nora followed, offering apologies that sounded casual even to her own ears.
“I’ve still got some packing to do,” Milo said easily.
“Dinner was wonderful as always, Connor,” Nora added, smiling patiently even though her brain was shouting at her to get them out the door.
No one questioned it. Maisie waved them off with a knowing smile and Axel lifted his glass in a quiet toast as they passed.
“We’ll see everyone in the morning!” Milo called out as he casually ushered her out the door.
They rode down in the elevator in silence and stayed that way as they walked across the lobby of the lodge and out the main doors. Outside, the night air wrapped around them, cool and crisp, the hum of the resort muted behind the closed door.
Nora exhaled slowly, like she’d been holding something in all evening.
Milo didn’t rush. He laced his fingers with hers and started them down the path, unhurried, as if they had all the time in the world.
But Nora felt the countdown anyway.
Every step felt intentional. Every brush of his thumb against her knuckles was a promise.
Tomorrow could wait.
Tonight belonged to them.
Finally.
The path back to Milo’s place curved away from the lights of the main lodge.
The gravel was soft underfoot, the light fading, and the only sound around them came from nature.
The air smelled faintly of pine, and was cool enough that Nora snuggled closer as they walked.
She shivered slightly, and he let go of her hand so he could wrap his arm around her. “We’ll be home soon,” he murmured.
Home.
That was wishful thinking.
Because now when she thought of the whole house with a white picket fence, Milo was there. They weren’t in a luxury penthouse condo in the middle of a major city; they were in a small town that looked suspiciously like Harbortown.
They walked in silence for a while, the comfortable kind that hummed instead of gaped.
Nora counted the small things instead: the rhythm of his breathing, the way his thumb traced an absent-minded arc over her shoulder, the warmth of his body, and how much she was going to miss having him physically close.
Each step felt like subtraction.
Less noise. Less distance. Less pretending this night was like any other.
“I don’t want to make this heavy,” she said finally, the words slipping out before she could stop them.
He glanced at her, his expression gentle in the low light. “Okay.”
She smiled at that, how he always waited her out instead of pushed. “I just…I’m glad we had dinner with everyone and got to hear about Axel and Maisie’s trip, but now I’m really glad that we’re done and can finally have time for ourselves.”
His arm tightened around her. “Me too,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about this walk all evening.”
Her chest warmed at that, the admission settling somewhere right around her heart. She bumped her shoulder lightly against him, a quiet thank you she didn’t trust her voice with.
They reached the narrower stretch of path where the trees closed in a bit, shadows pooling deeper between trunks. Milo stopped then, turning to face her.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
And so did she.
He brushed his thumb along her jaw, slow and reverent, like he was memorizing her. Nora leaned into the touch without thinking, her hands coming up to rest against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath her palms.
There were so many things she wanted to say, and it looked the same for him, but ultimately, neither said a word.
“Come on,” he murmured after a moment, his forehead resting against hers. “We’re almost there.”
She nodded, though part of her wanted to stay suspended right there, balanced on the edge of what was coming.
They walked the rest of the way even slower.
By the time his cabin came into view, Nora already felt a little breathless with anticipation.