Page 48 of Her Billionaire's Baby Secret

He took her chin and turned her toward him. Her gaze met his. She was such a beautiful woman. “I really like you, Sariah. I’ve been feeling myself falling for you again since I’ve been here visiting.” He stroked his thumb across her cheek.

She put her hand over his. “I’ve been falling for you too.”

“I’m dreading going back to New York without you,” he confessed.

“Then stay longer.” She pulled him toward her and pressed her lips to his. She was soft and sweet and smelled amazing. He brought a hand to the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him. He needed her near him always. The thought of spending even one day away from her created an ache in his chest that he could hardly bear.

But how could he leave New York? He had a career there and now a baby on the way. He had important ties to the city, and he didn’t see how he could ignore those responsibilities. He couldn’t expect Sariah to leave Maple Creek either. It was her home, and she had a thriving business there.

When she kissed him like this, he wanted to do anything she asked. The truth was, he wasn’t free to make choices to abandon two huge parts of his life.

She must have seen some of the sorrow on his face because her features clouded with worry. “What is it?”

“I don’t know how this is going to work out between us.”

“We’ll make it work. People do it all the time,” Sariah insisted, kissing him again.

He broke off the kiss. “I want to be honest with you. The reality is, I’m not going to be able to stay here for much longer. I can come back and visit you, but ultimately, either you’re going to have to move to New York or we’re going to need to have a long-distance relationship.”

“Can’t you work long distance?”

“That’s a possibility, but it won’t work for me to abandon my kid.”

“Right. The baby.” He could see the gears turning in her mind. “You can’t live so far away from your kid, can you?”

He shook his head. “I’m going to want to be in my baby’s life. I want to be there for all the major milestones.”

“I can’t blame you for that. I’d want the same thing. And the fact that you’re standing by your child only makes me love you so much more.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “This really isn’t going to work, is it?”

“We can give the long-distance thing a try.”

“I’m not sure I’m cut out for that. I wasn’t back when we were in high school, and I’m still not.”

“I have a private jet. I can come back to visit you all the time. It won’t be like I’m in college.”

“You’ll forget about me pretty quickly. I know you must have gorgeous women swarming you all the time at those fancy New York parties you’re always going to.”

It was true, he did have a lot of women trying to get their claws into him.

Sariah wiped at the wetness on her cheek. “I won’t be around to stake my claim. How could I compete with that?”

“It wouldn’t be a competition. They aren’t you. When I commit to someone, I don’t see the other women.”

It was like the word commit had triggered something in her. A light went off in her eyes. “I’m just not ready to commit myself. I still have a lot of trust issues. I’m working through that in therapy, but as much as I care about you, I don’t think it’s the right time for us,” Sariah said. “I’m sorry, Kane.” She looked up at him with the saddest blue eyes.

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She wasn’t willing to fight for what they’d found together? Just because some jerk did a number on her?

“I should probably go.” She pushed open her car door.

“Wait.” He took her by the hand and pulled her closer to him. He pressed his lips to hers, and she curled toward him. For that one moment, everything was perfect. He didn’t want to think about what was about to happen next.

She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes.

“Just consider what I’m proposing.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t,” she whispered. “I’m not ready. I thought I might be, but I was wrong.” She stepped out of the car, leaving him sitting by himself.

He sat and stared out his windshield for a few minutes, strangely numb. How could this be over? Just like that?

---