CHAPTER TWELVE
JADE
I wake up the next morning with a swirling feeling of dread in my stomach. Today is my final day here at the resort, and my last few hours with Baxter. I’m not ready to tell him goodbye, yet I need to be out of my cabin by three and I originally planned to be on the road making the long drive home by then as well.
He’d let me stay in his cabin with him if I wanted, I know that. But what’s another couple of hours? It wouldn’t make leaving him any less painful.
We spent yesterday talking and having sex and I can’t deny it any longer. Somehow, I did a silly thing like falling for him. He’s brash and can be a bit of a jerk. He can also be amazingly sweet and understanding. I’d like nothing more than to get the chance to know him better away from here and find out if my newfound feelings can take root and become the love that I’ve always yearned for.
Baxter pokes his head into the bedroom at that moment, his bright, blue eyes and beautiful smile causing my chest to ache. “Good morning,” he says, striding over to the bed, his hands cradling my cheeks and his mouth seeking mine in a long, deep kiss that leaves my soul crying out for more time, more everything with him.
When our lips part, I shove my heartbreak down, determined to enjoy the last of our time together.
After breakfast, Baxter shyly suggests he would like to try some yoga poses with me. I hate to disappoint him, but after a big meal is not the best time to do yoga. We compromise with a walk around the resort.
Passing happy couples and families with children isn’t doing anything to improve my mood, and it’s hard for me to keep up with the idle chitchat Baxter is trying to engage me in.
That’s why I can’t fully blame him when he says he’ll meet me near the lodge when it’s time for lunch and, after giving me a quick kiss, he abruptly veers off the path we’re on and takes off. I don’t know if my departure is tearing him apart like it is me, but suddenly I wonder if it wouldn’t be better for me just to pack up and leave now. No messy, embarrassing goodbyes. Especially if it’s all on my end.
Dashing the tears from my cheeks, I make up my mind and hurry back to my cabin. I don’t have much, so packing doesn’t take long. I can’t help lingering in the doorway, reliving my moments with Baxter. The yoga mat rolled under my arm feels particularly heavy, as if soaked with the memory of my first encounter with him. I can still see him standing on it, peaceful and perfect in his pose.
Yes. That is how I’ll remember him, I decide. A beautiful stranger that became so much more.
Returning my key to the lodge’s front desk, I’m struggling to wheel my luggage out to the main parking area, when I hear my name being yelled. I pause, turning to see Baxter racing down the walkway, his blue eyes so wide that even from this distance the white of his sclera is visible.
His breath huffs out in great rasping gasps when he comes to a screeching halt in front of me. “Where are you going?” he roars, his chest heaving while his wild eyes bounce from my luggage to me.
Sucking my lower lip between my teeth, I will myself not to cry or get emotional. “Home. You know I’m leaving today.”
Baxter stretches to his full height, a hand tunneling through his windswept curls. “Yes. But later. Not now.”
“I thought it best to go now,” I say, keeping it simple, afraid to say anything more.
“No, it’s not best,” he snaps.
Another guest is wheeling their luggage along the walkway and Baxter sends a dark glower their way. He grabs my hand and tugs me off the path. I let go of my suitcase and allow him to pull me further away. When he stops, he whirls to face me, both hands seizing mine.
“You said before about choosing happiness,” he says.
I lick my lips and nod, my stomach in knots.
“Jade, my happiness is with you. I’m choosing you.”
My head buzzes and I feel almost lightheaded. “I don’t understand.”
“If you leave without me, you’re taking my heart with you, and I can’t live without it or you.”
Hope fills me, making me feel five pounds lighter, only for doubt to creep in. “You said love was a lie-”
He cuts me off. “I was wrong.” He swallows hard, the sound barely louder than my pounding heart. “Love is real when you’re with the right person. You are the one I want. I love you and I can’t lose you.”
I yank my hands from his. “But your work… I could never fit into your world…”
“I don’t like that world, not anymore. Let me be part of yours.”
This is everything I’ve ever wanted and more. Tears cloud my eyes and impatiently I blink them away. Yet I can’t ask him to sacrifice it all for me. “You can’t give that all up!”
His lips curl in a familiar cocky smirk. “Why? I’m loaded, I don’t have to work. So, what would I really be giving up?” He shakes his head. “I would lose nothing. But if I let you go, then I have nothing, absolutely nothing, worthwhile in my life.”
It hits me with all the power of a thunderbolt. He’s serious. Baxter McDaniels loves me.
This isn’t a movie, but it is the Mountain Ridge Resort and dreams really do come true here.
With a whimper, I launch myself into his arms, my mouth crashing into his. “I love you!” I say between kisses, his strong arms firm around me in an embrace that I never want to leave.