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She cleared her throat and forced a small smile. “Sorry. I didn’t want to wake you.”
He nodded.
“Um. There’s breakfast and coffee inside.”
His gaze swept to the lodge entrance then back to her. “Are you going to disappear if I grab some food?”
Chuckling, she shook her head. “No. I’ll wait here.”
He stared down at her for an uncomfortable moment, making her wonder if he could read her mind. Then he leaned down and kissed her forehead softly. “Be right back.”
As he disappeared into the lobby, her phone beeped.
The offer will expire eventually. Don’t be an idiot. Come home.
She almost dissolved into tears, but pinched herself so she wouldn’t. What the fuck was she going to do?
Chapter 12
A pristine Lincoln Navigator sat in the far corner of the parking lot. There were no cameras. No security guards.
Too fucking easy.
Luke gave his head a shake then tossed their luggage into the back of Ophelia’s SUV.
He wasn’t here for work. Besides, it’d be a dick move to steal someone’s vehicle on vacation in the middle of the mountains. It wasn’t as if they could get a ride home, fill out insurance paperwork and a police report easily. People came here with their kids. He wasn’t about to destroy someone’s vacation. Even he had limits.
But god, he missed the rush. Although being with Ophelia had kept him on a high all its own.
Soon he’d be back to his old life. Only a two-day drive back home. He’d been feeling a mixture of relief and anxiety since they’d woken up that morning. He was eager to get home to Fox and Atlas to help them deal with the shit going down. From the texts he’d been receiving, things weren’t getting better with the guy messing with them. But then there was another part of him that wasn’t ready to give up Ophelia.
It was the elephant in the room. They’d packed in sullen silence, and he couldn’t really get a handle on what she was thinking. The girl had shut down late last night, and he was having trouble reading her.
Was she sad they were leaving the park? Or was she as torn up about him as he was about her? He shouldn’t assume she felt anything for him, but it was hard not to hope.
When he shut the tailgate of her SUV, it was harder than he’d intended.
“Ready?” He turned to Ophelia behind him.
She peered around her, taking deep breaths as she squinted into the sunlight. “I’m going to miss this place.” Her voice was tight with emotion.
“Me too.” And he meant it. There was something spiritual about being there. More than just communing with nature. It was hard to explain, but was so profound he doubted he’d ever forget it. He was struck with an overwhelming sense that the person he’d just had this amazing experience with was about to walk out of his life forever.
He had to get the fuck out of here before he did something stupid like buy property and build a fucking cabin or something.
After moving to the other side of the car, he opened the door for Ophelia. Slowly, she ducked inside, a heart-wrenching frown on her face.
When he slid into the driver’s seat, he put a hand on her knee. “You can always come back.” He’d really wanted to start that sentence with “we,” but he knew it would sound clingy.
“Yeah.”
The attempt at consoling her had been lame—he knew that—but what else was there to say? He sure as hell couldn’t think of anything. The last two days in the park, and with Ophelia, had been amazing. They’d found a swimming hole and jumped off of cliffs, braving the height and cold water. She was damn ballsy.
They’d rented a canoe and circled the lake at dusk where they’d spotted a moose and her calf getting a drink. In the restaurant, they’d sampled every odd dish, even bison and elk. And each night, they’d fallen into bed laughing, cuddling, and fucking, in no particular order.
He wished he could stay here with her forever.
But duty called. And he loved his cousins too much to desert them, even for a place like Glacier. Even for a girl like Ophelia.
