His green gaze was intense as he said, “I’ll leave you alone so you can get dressed.”

“Okay,” I heard myself say.

He didn’t move right away.

I held my breath.

He gave a subtle nod, then grabbed his wallet and went toward the door.

“Chase!”

He turned.

My heart raced.

Ask me.

The “yes” filled my throat.

I swallowed.

“This isn’t goodbye,” he said. “I’ll stop by the lodge tomorrow, all right?”

“All right.”

He gave me a soft smile and left the room.

I let my shoulders slump. Everything was okay, wasn’t it? He was visiting tomorrow. This wasn’t over.

But as I looked at the door, I couldn’t help feeling like something just ended.