But he kisses me gently, softly.
In any other situation, I’d think he was promising me something, but I know that neither one of us is looking for something serious right now.
Right?
Isn’t that what’s happening?
We’re both just hanging on to what we have, trying our best to make things work. We’re both just doing our best because we have very different lives.
“Heath,” I whisper.
Please give me a chance.
Please come visit me.
Please come to one of my signings.
There are so many wonderful things I want to say to him, but I don’t because I know it’s not the right time for either one of us. There are so many words I want to throw in his direction. I just want him to know that hey, this thing between us is important to me, and I don’t want it to end.
But I don’t say anything.
Because it wouldn’t be fair to either one of us.
What are we going to do?
He can’t drive to West Valley every weekend and I definitely can’t come out to Storm Haven. The mountains are beautiful, but living out here would mean I couldn’t attend mixers every night and do all of those other horrible tasks that I hate.
No, this is definitely for the best.
At least, that’s the lie I keep telling myself.
“I’ll miss you,” he whispers into my hair.
“Miss you more,” I say.
“If you ever need help with the boys,” he says. “I meant what I said. I’d be happy to help.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“And you should hook up with some shifters in your city. See if they can help support you, too. Shifter kids require a lot of work. You know how they say it takes a village?”
“Yeah,” I smile. “I know.”
“You got this, pretty human. I believe in you.”
Then he pulls away, presses one last kiss to my forehead, and gets into his SUV. He starts the vehicle, backs up, and pulls out of the parking lot. And that’s it. I’m alone.
This is what we both knew was going to happen.
Literally.
Both of us knew that this thing between us was a short-term fling. It was just a couple of days of fun and adventure. The kids got to hang out with Spot and have fun shifting into their forms and back again and Heath and I...
I bite my lip.
I won’t say I fell in love this weekend.
I won’t say it.