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“That is what I thought,” I said, lowering my head. “But my heart, it is—”
“It is fighting you, I know.” She laughed. “Mine is, too, but I want us to keep this, this last night, and these last few weeks in our minds. I want this to be what we think about when we cross each other’s minds. Next year, I will come back here, and I will find you. Then, if we are both in this place, we can enjoy another couple of weeks in each other’s arms. Until then, we need to keep living our lives.”
“I understand,” I said, not sure what to say to that, but getting up and walking over to her. “I had an amazing time. So, until next year, take care of yourself.”
“Of course,” she said quietly as I leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
I grabbed my jacket from the table and walked out, not looking at her again. As I opened the door, Hailey walked in, smiling at me. I smiled back and left, turning the corner and walking down the corridor to the elevator. I paused for a moment, thinking about going back to Bea, but I sighed and continued, making my way to my room and packing my things quickly. I called a car to pick me up out front and looked one last time around the room. Part of me was really sad that I had to leave Aspen, and the other couldn’t figure out my mixed emotions over leaving Bea. Maybe she was right. Maybe this was for the best.
I took the car to the airport and walked through security, checking my tickets. We were on our way to Upstate New York to work there for a couple of months. I never really enjoyed my time there. The air was thin, and everything was always overcast and dirty. I shrugged my shoulders, figuring it was just another stop on the way. As I approached the terminal, I saw Glen across the hall, looking down at his ticket and holding tightly to his luggage. He never checked his bags after losing them on his way to Alaska and having to buy all new gear. It was almost an obsession for him.
“Hey,” he said, looking up and seeing me.
“Hey, Glen,” I said, forcing a smile. “How was your trip?”
“It was fantastic,” he said. “I saw my family and my sisters, and I had lunch with an old girlfriend. She was kind of that girl that got away.”
“Did you let her get away again?”
“Maybe.” He chuckled. “Work was calling. What was I supposed to say?”
“I knew you weren’t that willing to give up this life.” I laughed.
“You ready to get out of here and head to New York?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “Sure, sounds good. You know how I don’t like to be in one place very often.”
“Did you say goodbye to Bea?”
“Yeah,” I replied and then changed the subject. “I think I’m going to grab a coffee for the plane. You want one?”
“No.” He chuckled. “I’ve had way too much caffeine already. I just had a red eye from home to here.”
“That’s right,” I said, nodding. “I completely forgot.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Huh? Yeah, I just raced out of the hotel. You know I am always late to everything.” I laughed, pulling out my wallet. “I woke up like an hour before I needed to be here, so I packed as fast as I could. I always hate it when I have to rush. I didn’t even stop by and have breakfast. Though I did make a detour and pick up our checks.”
“Oh, great,” he said, laughing. “I spent a bit more than I expected to while I was home.”
“That always happens,” I replied. “Okay, I’m gonna grab a coffee. I’ll be right back.”
I could see the look that Glen was giving me. He had known me long enough to know that I was not actually okay, and that something else was going on that I didn’t really want to talk about. Usually, he would hound me about it until I answered, but I think he knew that it had something to do with Bea. He also knew how sensitive I was to the whole idea of getting attached to someone at one of the resorts. Yet, there I was, moping around, trying to remember what happened that I fell so hard for the girl with the striking eyes. I knew that I had made a mistake, but it wasn’t one that I would have done any differently had I known how it would turn out.
Glen was a good friend, and I was really glad that he decided to not bring things up. I knew that if I had to explain, it would just make me feel worse. I didn’t know when I would feel better about all of this, but I knew I had to try. Bea had made it very clear that she didn’t want to be involved, and even though I wanted to believe that it was really because she was right, I knew part of it had to do with her own fears.
Hopefully, I would eventually be able to let this go.
Chapter 20
One Month Later
Bea
It had been a little over a month since I left Aspen, and still, every morning when I woke up, I thought about Cameron, and every night when I laid down to go to sleep, I thought of him, too. I wondered where he was and if he was thinking of me, too. I wondered if our paths would actually cross again, or would it really just be a romance left to our memories? I had picked back up at work and was writing another romance. This one was completely up to my own creativity. When I read back through the first chapter, I found that I had created a character with Cameron’s sense of humor, his charisma, his charm, and his sexy as hell smile. I guessed I thought that if I wrote him out of my head and onto a sheet of paper, I could keep him there and finally get a good night’s sleep.
This morning, though, when the light shimmered through the windows and my eyes shot open, I immediately jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Getting the stomach flu had nothing on whatever was going on with me. I sat there breathing heavily, my forehead resting on the cool porcelain seat of the toilet. Lord, I felt like complete hell. I was shuddering, my stomach was doing flip flops, and sweat was pouring from my forehead. I sat there for quite a while, too afraid to get up and end up puking all over the floor. After my stomach had settled, I pulled myself off the floor with a groan and walked over to the sink, looking up at my pale face in the mirror. I pulled the thermometer from the cabinet and took my temperature. It was strange. I didn’t have a fever.
