Page 124 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
She reached for a mug and filled it for him. “Have you packed?”
He shifted beside her. “Not quite.”
She glanced at the clock on her wall. “JJ, you’re gonna be late. You don’t know what New York traffic can be like.”
“Hey, I’ve watched movies.” He gave her a halfhearted smile as he took the steaming mug from her.
She snickered and shook her head. “Go get your stuff.”
His smile fell, his expression uncharacteristically serious. “I don’t want to.”
“What? What do you mean?” She blinked up at him.
Leaning in toward her, his gaze grew intense, and the air between them thickened with emotion. “I want to stay here. With you.”
For a moment, time stopped. The roar of blood past her ears was the only sound as his words reverberated through her.
He meant it. He would do that… for her.
She shook her head. “JJ, you can’t. You’re… you’re a mountain man. This city will shrivel you up like a dried raisin.”
She felt a wave of guilt just thinking of him leaving Aspire behind. The ranch, his horse, the cabin…
She shook her head again. “I can’t let you do that.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked, his throat working as he set his coffee down. “Then come back with me.” His voice held a desperate edge that should not have been endearing. But it was. It curled around her heart, coaxing, begging, trying to cajole. “Come on, Lia. Aspire could be your home. Your family’s there. They love you.”
“They tolerate me.”
“Theyloveyou,” he countered. “You just need to let them.”
She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms, trying to force her mind into blankness. Her heart was beating frantically, like it could somehow escape being hurt if only it could find its way out of its cage.
“Lia, please. I know you say you don’t belong in Aspire, but here’s the thing. You belong with me. I know what I want, and it’s you.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn’t manage to say all the ugly thoughts pushing into her mind.
You shouldn’t waste your energy wanting me. Even if you do now, it won’t last.
What made him believe it would last?
It would end. It always ended. He would leave her once this chemistry fizzled out. And then where would she be?
“No,” she croaked out before her throat grew too tight.
He took a step toward her, crowding her body and filling her senses. “I’m not a young fool anymore, and being with you isn’t a rushed decision made for all the wrong reasons. I want to be with you because you make me happy and I love being around you. You challenge me, excite me.Youmake my life warm and colorful. And I don’t care if we have to live in outer Siberia if that’s what it takes for us to be together. I’ll move for you. I’ll move here for you.”
She shook her head.
His voice grew painfully gruff. “I know you love me, Lia.”
She couldn’t deny it. Her heart felt like it was splitting in two at the thought of sending him away.
But she had to… for both their sakes.
Reaching for his hands, she was fighting tears as she smiled at him. “Because I love you, I can’t ask you to move here for me.” She sniffed and went up on her tiptoes to grab his face and kiss him. “But I’m not ready to move to Aspire for you. I’m sorry.”
She kissed him again and he let her, but she felt him pull away.
