“That’s not fair.” She backed up to the door.
“It’s like you think you can avoid any sort of feelings if you have enough information. You can’t think your way out of pain. Having information doesn’t stop the hurting. Trust me, I know firsthand.” My words sat heavy in the air between us.
She sighed. “It must be so nice for you to have the answers to everything all the time.” She shook her head. “I’m not trying to outsmart feelings, Levi. I’m just not ready to put myself into a position where a man can take everything from me the moment he decides to change the plan without telling me.”
She walked out the door with that final blow, and I felt like an absolute prick.
Chapter 29
Levi
I swungthe axe so hard it split the wood and lodged itself in the stump. I had to rock it several times it was stuck so far into the now split base.
“You seem lovelier than normal. Even for you,” Pace said by way of greeting.
I grunted.
“You see that it is snowing, right?” he asked.
I grunted.
“Ah, just like old times. So. How’s Claire?”
“I’m in love with her.”
“Oh. Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.” Pace frowned and came to an abrupt stop. “Now that I think about it, I’m not that surprised. You always were a romantic. But why areyou mad about it?”
I stood and shivered as the sweat on my neck instantly cooled in the cold air. “I’m mad because I told her and said she could stay here, and she acted like I was insane.”
Pace blew in his hands, rubbing them together. “You’re gonna need to walk me through it. But first, let’s get inside before I freeze my balls off. I do plan to have kids one day.”
“God help us,” I grumbled, setting down the axe and leading him to the house.
I brought us to the couch but then turned sharply on my heels, remembering that our most recent conversation tainted it. In the kitchen, I remembered the time I bent her over the butcher block and couldn’t stay there. We walked in a circle, Pace and now Ripley following silently behind until finally, I settled in the one safe spot, free from thoughts of Claire, at the base of the stairs. Pace and Ripley exchanged a look before she gave up on my antics and went to her bed.
I gave Pace a quick rundown of the previous day’s events.
“And then I told her I loved her, and I wanted her to stay, and she ran out.” I curled my tongue in my mouth that felt acidic.
Pace listened patiently, nodded, and then grimaced, looking queasy as I came to the end of my diatribe. It was understandable. He had the ultimate heartbreak, and since then, had never been a fan of love or relationships.
“I know, I know. It’s not for you,” I said.
“It’s just really fast. She just got here what, last month?”
“Seven and a half weeks. People have fallen in love in a moment. Not that fast.” Not fast enough. The lead-up until I finallygot to kiss her felt like much longer, like years. Lifetimes before we finally made love.
Pace looked a little green around the gills. “What did she say, exactly?”
“She told me she wasn’t aware of how I felt for her or that I wanted her to stay. Or something. I offered her everything. A home until she landed on her feet. And no charge.”
“And you offered her that after you slept together?” Pace raised an eyebrow.
“You make it seem shady when you put those facts together in that order. It wasn’t like that.”
“Yeah, but you have to understand that may not have felt like the amazing offer of a lifetime you thought,” he said, crossing his arms.
“Why?”
