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“Hi. Sorry I had to cancel our Skype chat,” Mitch said, slightly out of breath.

Mitch was here.

In person. Standing right in front of her.

At the inn. In Blue Moon Bay.

Jessica blinked.

He was still here. Dressed in a pair of wrinkled khakis and a dirty, ripped, tight black T-shirt, his hair a mess and a short beard covering his face, he was really here. Exhausted-looking, but vibrant, hopeful eyes staring at her with the most love she’d ever seen.

“What are you…? How did you…?” Confusion overtook all other emotions. She was frozen on the spot while he walked almost as if in slow motion toward her.

“I made a last-second decision,” he said, still fighting to catch his breath. Had he run all the way from Cambodia? “I missed you.”

He missed her. “Right…but you were overseas…” Shocked to see him here had her incoherent. Thoughts, words, feelings were all a jumbled mess, and she couldn’t articulate any of them.

“I was,” he said, taking her hips and pulling her toward him. “But then I started to think about bowling and axe throwing…startedmissingthose things.”

She swallowed hard, shaking her curls around her shoulders. “You missed boring, small-town life activities? You hate those things.”

His gaze burned into hers as he pulled her closer. He smelled like the outdoors and sweat and day-old aftershave, but she couldn’t breathe it in fast enough. “I missed doing those things with you.”

“Enough to come back here?” Her stomach was in knots. Hours ago, she’d been contemplating cooling things because she wanted to avoid a broken heart. Now he was standing there, holding her, telling her he’d missed her. The whirlwind of emotions spiraling through her had yet to decide on which one to land. She was surprised and happy to see him, desperate for clarity, afraid to let her guard down, and overwhelmed with a desire to kiss the face off him.

“Yes.” He paused, gently touching her cheek. “But unfortunately, I can’t stay.”

There it was. The bomb drop. He’d flown all this way…but ultimately he was leaving again. They’d be right back where they were five minutes ago.

She eased out of his arms and folded hers across her chest, hoping to shield herself from the pain of having to tell him face-to-face what she’d barely been able to text. “Mitch, I miss youso much, but I’m not sure I can do this. After logging off our Skype chat, I felt hollow, empty inside. Knowing I can’t reach you by phone and having you cancel because of important things taking priority hurts too much. I’m not strong enough to be with you in this way.” Despite how much she loved him, she had to be honest with him and herself.

“Good,” he said.

Her eyes widened. “Good?”

He nodded, stepping toward her again. He was so close she could feel his breath on her forehead, but he didn’t touch her. “Yes, good. Because I’m not strong enough for that, either. That’s why I’m here.”

“Yes, but you’re leaving again. And again. Who knows how many times? And I can’t do that. Can’t do us that way.” The words killed her to say, but they needed to be said. Full transparency. She was looking for someone to share her life with and she’d always feel a void, living life with him between his time away. Knowing she’d always be the second passion in his life.

He reached out and touched her cheek. “What if I only left once in a while? What if I go back and finish what I started on this trip, then work locally with the organization here in California? I’d only have to go overseas for two months every year.”

What was he saying? That he’d give up traveling with Doctors Without Borders full time? For her? Having him gone two months a year was certainly better than all the time, but did he really want that?

“You can’t do that. You love your life. This is your passion and I’d never ask you to give that up.”

“You’re not asking, and I wouldn’t be giving it up. The truth is, I can’t see any other way. I used to pack up and leave everything behind and never feel a pull to come back to it. Nothing, nowhere ever had a hold on me. But that changed when I fell for you,” he said, running his thumb along her jawline.

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. She was afraid that any second the magic of this moment would disappear.

“Jess, I want to see where this new path could take me. Take us.”

“I do, too, but…”

“Shhhh…no buts. I’ve made my decision. It wasn’t an easy one, but it’s the right one. Now, I just need to know where you stand. What do you want and can you live with that compromise?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tears of happiness burned in the back of her eyes as she hugged him tight, savoring the feel of him in her arms, breathing in the familiar scent of him that she’d craved.

“I can definitely live with that.” And she could always close the bakery two months a year and go with him. They didn’t need to be apart. She didn’t need to sacrifice everything and neither did he. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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