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This had to end. She needed to be mad. That was the only way that she would be able to get through this.
He was leaving sooner rather than later, and any second more that she spent with him was just going to add to the heartbreak she’d have to get over when he was gone.
"Did you put my phone on silent?" she demanded.
He glanced over his shoulder, and a slow smile spread on his gorgeous face.
"You needed sleep."
"You can’t…" Laura was overcome with emotions. Fear. Anxiety. And the worst…love. Her youngest niece was right. Laura was in love with Knox.
Maybe it was the first night they’d been together when he’d said that she was brave and fearless. When he’d told her she was going to be an amazing mom.
Maybe it was when he’d gone to her appointment at the sperm bank and offered to be her baby daddy.
Maybe it was when he’d caught her while she was trying to save Sof in the tree.
Or maybe it was the first time they’d danced. She’d known then that he was dangerous. Heck, she’d told him as much.
It didn’t matter when she’d made the mistake. The damage had been done. The only way that she was going to get out of this with some of her heart intact was to end things now.
Taking a deep breath, she did her best to work up anger she didn’t feel, which was ridiculous because if anyone else had silenced her phone, she would be furious, but somehow Knox doing it just made her feel safe. It made her feel cared for. It made her feel protected.
Now she was mad. At herself, but still, she could use it.
"You have no right to silence my phone. There could have been an emergency. I have a family. A business. Friends."
"It was just for a few hours. You needed sleep."
The fact that he wasn’t immediately apologizing helped to fuel the embers of anger at him that were almost immediately distinguished by the sight of his chiseled torso.
"You know what Ineed; Ineedyou to leave," she stated firmly.
He ignored her request. "Do you want coffee?"
"No, I want you to leave," she snapped.
Laura heard herself and knew that she sounded like Penelope saying that she didn’t want to share her toys. But she didn’t care.
Knox calmly filled a plate of bacon, chocolate chip pancakes, and eggs and set it on the table. "Why don’t we eat and we can talk."
Of course, he wouldn’t react to her being bitchy. She was clearly overreacting, yet, he wasn’t going to match her energy. As frustrating as that was, it was also really fucking sexy. Which was not helping her at all.
"I don’t want to eat breakfast," she lied as her stomach growled loudly.
Knox grinned as his eyes twinkled with awareness. "You sure about that?"
No. No, she wasn’t. "Yes, I’m sure. I need to get ready and go to work. You need to leave."
Laura knew that if she didn’t put an end to this right now, this morning, she might never recover.
She loved Knox. Her heart was already broken because she knew he didn’t love her back. He enjoyed having sex with her, and he was happy to spend time with her while he was in town, but that wasn’t love. That wasn’t commitment. That was an expirationship.
And there was no way she could settle for less at this point. She’d played with fire, and she’d gotten burned. Badly. Charred to a crisp.
The mature thing to do would be to tell him that she’d developed feelings for him and so this arrangement wasn’t going to work for her anymore. She should tell him that the more time she spent with him, the more devastating it would be when he left. She should tell him that what they shared was special and she’d always treasure it, but out of self-preservation, she needed him to give her space for the remaining time he spent in Whisper Lake.
She took a breath and tried to work up the nerve to say all those things. But when she opened her mouth, instead, she heard herself say, "I’m serious, Knox. I appreciate your help around here, but this is too much. I need some space. I don’t think I can do this anymore."
