Page 68 of If You Were Mine
I craved her more than air itself.
And I knew with one casual cruelty, I could break her.
And yet I knew she could break me just the same.
And how fucked up was that?
Chapter 13
HARPER
Taking a whirlwind long weekend to head to Denver with your newly called boyfriend wasn’t something that I had really put much thought into until it had happened.
We had spent two nights wrapped in each other, with Dorian showing me his world. The big city of Denver, which wasn’t like any other large cities I had been to. It had its own flavor, its own feel. And it was such a far distance from Cage Lake that it felt nearly insurmountable.
Because frankly, it wasn’t just distance.
I pounded my hands into the dough again, working on my kneading. I had a seven-plate loaf to make, and then I’d work on rolls, and a few other baked goods before I got ready for the Valentine’s Day dance tonight. Because of course, it was Valentine’s week.
Cage Lake loved spreading the holiday out over an entire week. Yes it was good for the town’s revenue and income, but really it was for the town’s spirits. Yesterday had been the child’s party and fair. I had baked far too many cookies and other baked goods that had been gobbled up by everybody in sight. My hands still hurt but it had been worth it to see the smiles on their faces.
Dorian had shown up to help, ignoring the town busybodies as they had stared at him, wondering why he was standing so close to me. It wasn’t like we were hiding who we were. But there were some judgments.
After all, he was a Cage. A millionaire playboy with a tragic backstory who happened to have been best friends of my older brother.
Of course, the busybodies including Ms. Patty had opinions. Even my own team had opinions, but they were doing their best not to spill them my way. At least I hoped they were doing so.
I didn’t want to hear what they thought. My friends were happy for me. I was happy. I just needed to lean into that.
But this past weekend reminded me that while tomorrow was the final day of this Valentine’s break, today was Valentine’s Day.
Today was the dance that all of the locals attended, well, most of them. I wasn’t sure a Cage had ever come, though I thought Isabella might now that she was with Weston.
She hadn’t come last year because she had been down in Denver setting up Weston’s new business. The two had made their forevers work by having two places, and a very organized schedule.
Dorian’s life was in Denver. No it wasn’t that far away, but the hours added up. And when the weather was too icy or worse, the roads were closed… And even if the roads stayed closed but the weather turned sunny, Dorian himself had said he wasn’t ready to get on an airplane or helicopter anytime soon. It cost money, and emotional energy, and so much more to make that work.
My business and my home were in Cage Lake. A town with his name branded on it. My hands cramped, and I forced myself to relax.
I was fine. I had to be okay. But what was I supposed to do?
We had both said something about our feelings. Though it wasn’t exactly telling the other exactly how we felt. But he said he had never felt like this for anyone else. I knew Amy was the only other person he truly dated seriously. So whatever we had wasn’t like that.
But what would happen when he went back to work fully? I had seen the happiness in his gaze when he had been working. And how everybody had looked up to him. Had respected him. He was damn good at his job, and I knew he wanted to open a few more places, and perhaps even work with his brother Theo on another project. He couldn’t do things like that in Cage Lake. Sure he could open up any business he wanted here, but the type of places he worked with didn’t fit in Cage Lake. Maybe something near the resort, but that would be a long shot.
His home wasn’t here. But I was. What was I supposed to do?
No, the more I thought about that, the more my chest ached, and the more I was just begging for trouble.
We would figure it out eventually. We had to.
And then maybe he would tell me what else was wrong. Because there was something else on his mind. A reason he was working on that old house, a reason that he was hiding. We needed to talk it out but I was worried if we popped that bubble, everything would change, and he would realize that maybe the heat we had wouldn’t be enough.
“I didn’t know you were still here,” Ms. Patty said as she waved from the back door.
I shook my head out of my thoughts and smiled over at her.
“I have a few things to settle before I get ready for the dance. You know you’re not supposed to be back here, right?” I asked. Because while I loved Ms. Patty, I wasn’t in the mood to get in trouble by having a random person back here. Yes Dorian helped out a bit, but his family owned the building, and I counted that as a cheat. Honestly, while I loved Ms. Patty, I didn’t want her to ask too many questions. She knew far too much. Or thought she did.
