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I cocked my head at him. “You started that whole ‘sweet thing’ to annoy me, didn’t you?”
He grinned. “Yeah, but you like it, don’t you?”
I nodded. I did. I shouldn’t have. It was so cheesy, but when he said it and looked at me like I was the only woman in the entire universe, it made my heart sing.
He put an arm around me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. “It’s because you’re such a sweet little thing.”
I pulled back and gave him an annoyed look. “I’m not a little thing!”
He laughed and rubbed his beard. “No, you’re a tall woman, but I still tower over you, and you fit so perfectly beside me.”
I smiled at him and leaned against his shoulder again. I wanted to remember this vacation forever. Remember the time I spent with him this week. Even if, come Sunday, things went back to the way they used to be. But my heart would be broken again. I had to amp myself up for that.
He lifted my hand up and kissed the bi pride tattoo on the back of my wrist. “I’m glad you’re taking the job. You’ve never struck me as a woman afraid of anything. You jump two feet into anything you do.”
I shrugged. “I don’t want Declan to think he made a mistake. I know everyone thinks I’m flaky and unreliable. Sometimes that’s true, but I don’t want to prove that.”
He shook his head. “You never seemed flaky to me. You get excited about all the things, and it’s so cute how you jump up and down when there’s something you want to do.”
I laughed. “You just like watching my tits bounce!”
He gave me a sly smile. “Well…that too. But it’s your energy, your passion for what you do. You’re gonna be the most amazing marketing director for the brewery.”
“Thank you,” I muttered. I finished my pizza and drained my beer. “I’m gonna get the fire going.”
“I’ll help.”
I waved him off. “Finish your painting.”
He looked back at his canvas. “I think it’s done. You really like it?”
I nodded. “It’s gorgeous. You really captured what it’s like here. When I look at it, it reminds me of how much I love coming here. It’s like all my cares are forgotten for a few days.”
He picked up his paint palette. “I need to make a few minor touch-ups.”
I gave him a quick kiss. “Finish it, babe. I’ll start getting the fire going.”
His hand lingered on my hip, and it looked like he wanted to say something else, but then he turned back around and inspected his painting again.
I left him be and went back inside to get wood from the rack. The first night here, when I made that fire and tried to make nice with Felix, I had chopped a bunch of extra wood so we could do more fires. The last one had ended prematurely, but since Harper and Keisha were coming over, that wasn’t happening tonight.
I grabbed the logs and matches and went back outside. I laid the big pieces on the ground while I collected the tinder, which I arranged in the center of the fire, and lit a match. I tossed that into the fire pit and watched the fire build. As the light of the fire died down, I added more tinder and blew at the base.
“There’s my mountain woman,” Felix teased as he walked his painting and supplies back into the house.
I shook my head at him while I stood and watched the fire. I put one of the bigger pieces into the fire and watched it build. I sat back in one of the chairs and rubbed my hands down my arms. The sun had set, and it was getting darker out. I needed to change into warmer clothes for the cooler mountain air. Felix came back outside wearing a long-sleeved flannel and jeans. He held two plates of pizza for both of us.
I gave him a bemused look.
“I’m still hungry, and you only had one slice,” he said.
“In a minute, I need to change.”
I went back inside and into the bedroom where I had dropped my clothes. I hadn’t slept in the bedroom I normally stayed in since the night of the thunderstorm. I was so scared that night. I was grateful Felix had been there to comfort me in more ways than one.
I changed and went back outside. Felix was staring into the fire like he had a lot on his mind. I wondered what he was thinking about. If he was also struggling with the fact that we had to go back to the way things were before in a couple of days. I wanted so badly to know if he wanted me like I wanted him. My hopeful little heart wanted to believe he was holding back because he felt like he had to.
I sat down next to him and took my pizza from him. I chewed it while I watched the fire crackle to life in front of us. Felix put a hand on my thigh as we sat together for a few minutes in silence.
