Page 79 of Heart Set on You

“I also need to go and pack. Someone kept me very bust last night. So busy that I didn’t have time to pack for my flight.”

“I’ll cancel my meeting and your flight then,” I tease, with a wicked grin. If only that was a possibility.

She sighs. The sound hits me in my core, reminding me of the 2,000 miles that will be between us after today. But I know I can’t only think about myself and my feelings right now. She wants to be with her family, and I need to man up and support her.

“What can I do to help?” I ask her, brushing an errant strand of hair away from her face.

“You’re sweet, but I’ll be fine.”

“Let me at least take you to the airport then.”

“Miles, we talked about this. You’ll be in your meeting. I can take an Uber,” she answers, her voice taking on a more serious tone. She’s referring to our conversation at lunch yesterday. Despite my best efforts to persuade her to let me drive her, Rylee was adamant that she would go to the airport alone. I think she might be scared of goodbyes. After everything she’s been through, I can’t say I blame her.

I scratch my jaw, trying to make sense of it all. Her leaving. Me staying. Our last morning together. Sleeping all alone tonight. I want her to stay. I don’t want to do the long-distance thing. But I also don’t want to stand in her way. So if long-distance is the only way to keep her, so be it. I want her to be happy, but for me happiness is being with her 100 percent of the time.

I wish we could figure it all out. I kiss her lips softly, wishing I could find the right words to say. My head is a mess. My stomach is in a knot. I pull back, trying to remain calm, but I need to tell her how I feel. I want her to know that I’m all in with her. I want to ask her to stay.

I clear my throat. “I admire you, Ryls,” I begin. “So fucking much. I know how much your family means to you. Your grandparents are damn lucky to have you,” I tell her, running my fingers over her cheek.

“I see it so differently,” she says with warmth in her emerald eyes. “I’m lucky to have them. They saved me, Miles.”

It feels like I’ve been sucker punched. No matter how badly I want her to stay, I know I can’t ask that of her. The look in her eyes makes it obvious that Deer Lake and the people who live there mean everything to her. I can’t make this more difficult on her than it needs to be. I have to let her go.

“I’m going to miss you. You know that right?”

She offers me a small smile. “I know. I’m going to miss you too.”

“We’re going to talk every day,” I tell her. “We can FaceTime. We can also FaceTime naked. You’ll be sick of me in no time.”

She presses a chaste kiss to my lips.

“Insatiable… that’s what you are,” she says, holding my face. “And I look forward to it.” She kisses me again, but this time it feels laced with desperation.

I groan. “You realize this is not helping my situation right now.” She looks down at my lap and my joggers that are severely tented. She covers her eyes with her hand, shaking her head.

“It’s only you. You know that right?” I confess, needing to tell her, hoping she feels the same way I do. “I’m not going to be with anyone else.”

“Miles…” she whispers. “I can’t-“

“I mean it, Ryls. I couldn’t be with anyone else. This is me telling you that I’ve fallen for you. So fucking hard.”

It feels like the right time to tell her that I love her, because I do. I feel it deep down to my core. I want her to know, but it would only make it harder for her to leave. I can’t do that to her.

“I wouldn’t be able to be with anyone else either.” Fuck. I love this woman. I love her so damn much.

Neither one of us saw us coming. We weren’t looking for love or a relationship, but we happened anyways. A wildly, unlikely chance encounter that we both couldn’t ignore. We will always remember Vancouver as our beginning. The city I fell in love with Rylee Brookes. I’ll do everything I can to make sure it won’t be our ending.

I smile, finally letting out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. We’re doing this. We’ll make long distance work. It’s everything I needed to hear to let her get on that plane.

“We’ll figure this out,” I tell her. “One day at a time. I’m promising you right now we’ll figure things out.”

The conversation ends when I kiss her. It starts out slow and gentle, then turns hungry and full of heat. I fall more in love with this woman with every brush of her lips.

I kiss her like it’s the last time. Her lips press against mine and I pull her as close to me as I can. I’ve fallen hard for her. Everything I thought I wanted out of life is changing, and Rylee is the reason for that.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Miles

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