When she looked up at him, her eyes were wet again. Not with happiness. Her mouth was trembling, her cheeks pale. And although he hated every moment of her pain, although he wanted to haul her into his arms and dry her tears, he couldn’t help but consider her distress a good sign.
Despite those tears, she tried to smile. “This is so kind of you.”
“Anything for you.” He licked his lips. “The build will come in below budget, by the way. You can also use sustainable materials, since that’s important to you. I know you could have done all this yourself, but I wanted to make things easier for you. A new home and a new job are a huge transition.”
“I thought—” She cut herself off, blinking hard. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter what I thought. This is such a lovely gift, Seb. Thank you.” Flipping through the other papers, she frowned. “Are these additional views of the design? Or blown-up details from it?”
Here it was. The moment that would either save him or leave him a hollow wreck of a man forever.
“That’s a different design.” Jesus, why was his throat so dry? “Um… in case you need something else.”
“Something else?” She spread out the second set of plans on the island, holding down the edges with her hands. “I don’t…”
When she didn’t finish her sentence, he made himself ask. “You don’t what?”
“I’m not sure I understand these plans.” She squinted at them, scanning from left to right, top to bottom. “There’s no kitchen. No real bedroom, either. And what’s this little area for?”
Her finger tapped a room set off from the rest of the yurt.
“A changing room.” Oh, shit, he couldn’t swallow. “For clients. And there’s space for a little refrigerator with bottled water, along with lots of storage for all your supplies and tables. No need for a kitchen or bedroom, not in your place of business.”
She raised her head, face blank. “You designed me a massage yurt?”
Why couldn’t he remember the speech he’d memorized so carefully? “Uh…yeah.”
“But I’ll be working for Massage Mania. I won’t need a separate space.”
She’d misunderstood. Which meant, God help him, he’d have to explain.
“I want you to have a choice.” The words emerged in a rush, a flood contained behind a dam of fear for too long. “Because yes, my heart will crumble to pieces if you leave. But you’re my friend, as well as the woman I love. I want you to be happy more than I want you to be with me. So if you decide your future is out west, take the first set of plans. Be safe and warm and happy in your tiny yurt home. But if you decide your future is here, in Marysburg, with me…take the second set of plans.”
Those soft brown eyes had widened in shock. “Did you just say you lo?—”
But he couldn’t let her interject. He had to get it all out now, before his courage failed him.
“Take the second set of plans,” he repeated. “Open your own business. Build that massage yurt in my backyard, where there’s more than enough room. I’ve already researched the permits we’d need. Live with me.” His voice cracked. “W-work there, and live with me. Fill my house with joy and love and everything else that makes you remarkable.”
When he finally stopped speaking, a deathly silence fell over his house.
She stared up at him, wordless, her expression so full of conflicting emotions he couldn’t read it.
In sheer kneejerk defensiveness, he almost took it all back. Almost laughed and said he was joking, he’d just wanted her to have as many yurt options as possible, haha, how funny. Of course he didn’t love her. Of course he didn’t need her like the tides needed the moon, like a man lost in the vastness of space needed oxygen and warmth.
But believing mattered. Above all else,shemattered. More than his pride or the fears that gripped him so tightly sometimes he couldn’t breathe.
“Please,” he whispered. “Please, Lucy. Stay with me.”
Nothing. Not a word. Not a movement.
“I know I need help, and I’ll get it. I’ll find someone to talk to. I swear.” He bowed his head. “Please, just give me a chance to show you everything I’ve been hiding for too long.”
Slow tears were dripping down the sides of her beloved face. Tears born of joy? Of sadness that she was leaving him heartbroken?
“The last page is a limerick.” He thrust it in front of her with a shaking hand. “For you.”
There once was a man who adored you
He waited and waited and scored you
