Page 83 of She Was Made for Me

If there’s one thing I know after this evening, it’s that I’m not ready for this to be over, either. Not now, not in a week from now, maybe not ever.

I’m falling in love with Kyle, and I’m not ready to let him go.

33

Kyle

“This place is paradise.” Violet drops into the Adirondack chair beside me with a happy sigh, kicking her feet up onto one of the rocks surrounding the unlit fire pit in front of her.

“Mm,” I agree, my face tilted to the mid-afternoon sun. We’re a few feet from the lake on the lawn below the cabin, drinking mint juleps.

I roll my head to the side, lazily gazing at Violet as she reclines in the sun. She’s wearing that same purple cotton sundress she had on in the backyard when I had my way with her at Fruit Street, only this time it’s over the top of a bikini. We’ve spent the past two days swimming in the lake, eating fresh food, listening to music, and having so much sex I’m surprised my dick hasn’t fallen off. Tonight is our final night before we head back to New York tomorrow, and like the last time, I wish it wasn’t about to end. In fact, it seems to hurt even more now.

When I decided on the spur of the moment to bring Vi up here, I’d been thinking about getting out of the city somewhere we could be alone. What I hadn’t considered was that I wasn’t taking her just anywhere, I was bringing herhome, into my oasis by the lake, my fortress of solitude. In the four years I’ve lived in this cabin, I’ve never brought a woman home, and now I know why.

I was waiting for the right one.

“I bet you don’t want to return to the city tomorrow,” Violet murmurs, sipping her drink. “If I lived here, I’d never want to leave.”

I turn her words over in my mind. As much as I’ve enjoyed being home—even more so with Violet here—the quiet surroundings aren’t soothing me like they used to. I can’t quite believe it, but I think I miss the buzz of the city. I’d assumed that going back there would be triggering after everything I experienced, and while it took me a while to settle in at first, lately it’s been totally different. I’m not at the firm, and being in Violet’s company has changed everything. Then there’s the work itself, the challenge of tackling a major project and working with a team. Violet was right, I have missed the challenge of harder work, I just hadn’t realized it. In fact, I hadn’t realized a lot of things until I met her, like the fact that during the past four years I’ve become a bit of a recluse, hiding away in my cabin and only choosing projects I knew I could handle on my own. Working with Violet, with her relentless drive and ambition, has reminded me of how good it can feel to immerse myself in a project I’m passionate about. She’s reminded me it’s okay for work to be a source of satisfaction and enjoyment, too.

Violet, on the other hand, seems to have gone in the opposite direction. Since we left New York, she’s barely mentioned work; instead, she’s easily unwound into the long hours of swimming, eating, reading, and generally relaxing. I didn’t expect her to fit into this place so well, but she does. She fits here, with me.

As I gaze at the beautiful woman beside me, I realize that’s why we work so well together: we balance each other in all the right ways. Without Violet, I’m a recluse who hides from anything that might push me too hard, and without me, she’s a workaholic who never lets herself rest. Together, there’s harmony.

“Would you ever consider staying in the city?” I hear myself ask.

Violet mulls this over as she sets her drink down. “It has been on my mind,” she admits. “I’m not sure I really want to go back to the West Coast. But… my life is there. And if I get this job—”

“What if you got a job in New York?”

She pushes her sunglasses up onto her head to look at me properly. “That would be great, but I don’t have contacts there.”

“You have me.”

Her mouth quirks into a smile. “I mean for work.”

I set my own drink down, trying to ignore the anxious twinge in my stomach. “I do, too. The crew spoke to me about starting a company doing historical restorations full time. Well, it would be my company, and they’d work for me,” I add, thinking of how they phrased it. “Or… it could beourcompany.”

Violet’s lips part in surprise. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you are the reason this project ran so smoothly. That you could, maybe… stay in the city and work with me on more projects.” There’s another uneasy ripple in my gut, and this one is harder to ignore. Am I really considering leaving the carefully-constructed comfort of my life here to start over in New York? The city I intentionally left behind?

She stares at me. “As a business partner? Or…”

I nod, my heart drumming as I say the next words. “Yes, as my business partner, but also…” I swallow. “As more.”

It’s not until the words are out of my mouth that I realize how badly I want this. I don’t want to live like a recluse in my cabin anymore, afraid of my life getting messy again. After these past few weeks with Violet, there’s no way that could ever be enough for me now. Even if the thought of upending my whole life makes my pulse surge.

Her face lights with an incandescent smile. “Are you serious?”

It’s the smile that calms my nerves, that reminds me why I’m even considering something that, two months ago, would have had me running back to Maine with my tail between my legs.

“I don’t want this to end, Vi. Not after this weekend, not… I just don’t want it to end.” I take her hand in mine. “Do you?”

“No,” she whispers, eyes moving over my face. “But there’s more to this than just us, right? What about Dad?”

I grimace, feeling that familiar gut punch of guilt. “God, I can’t even think about that.”

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