AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But still, how could he not have heard the silent declarations, when every touch, every move, every kiss and caress repeated them again and again?
“All men are emotionally deaf and blind,” she muttered as she hoisted her shoulder bag over her arm and prepared to go downstairs for her grand exit. That was all she had to carry. Mick had gotten her heavier things earlier, while she’d showered, so there was no more reason to delay.
When she arrived downstairs, he stood in the foyer, leaning against the banister, a sunny smile on his face. The fiend.
“You ready?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You take anything for the flight?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean, I know you hate to fly. Or are you just going to regale us on board with the theme songs from nineties sitcoms?”
She gave him a sour look, barely listening, waiting for him to say something—anything—to let her know how he felt.
“Here, let me take that,” he said, reaching for her carry-on.
Her fingers itched, wanting to smack him for his good mood. Dammit, why did he feel good when her heart was breaking?
But she wouldn’t beg. She wouldn’t plead.
Nor, she decided, would she leave without admitting, once and for all, how she felt. She wasn’t a coward anymore, wasn’t willing to walk away with words left unsaid between them, whether they were words he wanted to hear or not.
After she left, maybe he’d think about it, acknowledge that she really did love him. And that maybe he loved her, too. Maybe it would just take some distance for both of them to figure out a way to make this long-distance relationship work.
“Okay, babe, pick up the pace. We got a long way to go.”
She dragged herself out the door after him. She barely took note of the beauty of the blue sky, the cold nip in the air that said autumn had arrived in earnest. It was punctuated by the visible puffs of breath she exhaled.
She couldn’t concentrate. Not on anything she saw, nor on anything he said, unless it might be prefaced by the words, “Caroline, I love you, don’t go.”
“Caroline?”
She sucked in a hopeful breath.
“Hope it’s a smooth flight.”
A particularly savage swearword shot through her brain. “Thanks a lot.”
Then she practically stalked to her car, beelining for the driver’s side. But the door was locked, and Mick had her keys. “Can you open the door for me?” she asked, walking around to see him unlock the trunk to place her carry-on bag inside.
That was when she noticed something.
The trunk was stuffed. Overflowing. She easily recognized her familiar, tasteful burgundy leather luggage. But there were also a couple of big, tattered, navy blue duffel bags crammed near to exploding.
She looked at the bags. Looked up at Mick. Then back down at the bags. “What is this?”
“What’s what?” he asked, slamming the lid shut and giving her a completely innocent look.
She tilted her head, confused, studying his face…and that was when she saw it. That wicked, mischievous, “gotcha” look she’d come to know and love.
“Mick—”
“What’s the weather like in California at this time of year, anyway?” he asked, not letting her finish.
“Mick!”
