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*
Mitch was stilldreaming about making love to Riley when his alarm went off. He opened his eyes, his heart stilled. She was gone. All the energy she’d brought with her had been sucked out of the room.
Sitting up slowly, he looked at the empty place beside him. Hours ago, he’d still held her warm body close to him, kissed her; he’d made love to her. And she just got up and left? Not even a good-bye.
A big hole opened up inside of him. Cussing, he got up. She thought she could just up and leave without talking to him? They’d just have to see about that. Grabbing his phone, he dialed her number. She wasn’t picking up. While texting her, he grabbed a shirt. How could she just leave?
Minutes later, he stopped in front of Janice’s house. His heart dropped. The only car on the driveway was Janice’s. Riley had already left.
As he jumped out of his car, the front door opened. Janice had her bag in her hand; she was on her way to school.
She waited for him next to her car.
“Is she—” he began but couldn’t finish his question.
“They left a little while ago,” she said. Pressing her fingers against her quivering lips, she looked away. “Poor Dylan didn’t want to leave. I was hoping… but I suppose things between the two of you… um… just didn’t work out.”
“It worked out!” he cried out, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That’s why I don’t understand why she just left. When I woke up this morning, she was gone. I’ve tried to call her, I’ve texted her, but she is flat-out ignoring me. And after last night…” Realizing what he was admitting, he pressed his lips together. “I just don’t understand. I was going to talk to her this morning, tell her I… I…”
Janice dropped her hands, her eyes wide. “Tell her what?”
There was such a loud roaring in his ears, he couldn’t think, let alone answer Janice.
“Mitch?”
“I… I have to go. See you at school.” Without a backward glance, he stomped back to his car.
Riley had left. Even after they’d spent hours last night making love, she’d snuck out of his house without waking him up, without saying good-bye. She was going back to her life in Portland without a backward glance.
He’d been transported to a whole new universe while making love with her, but apparently, what had happened between them didn’t mean that much to her.
He was going to have to forget about Riley.
Dropping his head on the steering wheel, he cussed softly. How the hell was he supposed to do that when every breath he took reminded him of her?
*
By eleven o’clock,Riley and Dylan were sitting in the plane, waiting to take off from Yellowstone airport in Bozeman.
Dylan had fallen asleep in his chair on the drive from Marietta, probably because of all the crying. She had nothing else to keep her thoughts busy but memories of her night with Mitch.
Every vivid detail kept replaying over and over in her mind—the way Mitch’s eyes had darkened with desire, the way his hands had known exactly where and how to touch her, his breath in her ear, the broken words he’d whispered as he’d made love to her.
Made love. Her breath got stuck in her throat. What had happened between them had been so much more than sex. They’d made love. She’d made love because…
Her heart kicked against her ribs before it finally settled back in place.
Because she loved Mitch. Stunned, she leaned back in her seat. Against all logic, despite the high walls she’d erected around her heart, she’d gone and fallen in love with Mitch.
That was why she’d snuck out of his house this morning, why she hadn’t answered his calls or reacted to his messages—she’d panicked because her heart had already known she’d fallen in love with him long before her mind had caught up. She couldn’t talk to him without revealing how she felt about him.
At some point, she’d have to respond to his and to his sisters’ calls, but not right now. Keeping herself from falling apart was using up all her energy at the moment.
“I don’t wanna go home,” Dylan said again, his bottom lip quivering. “What about Mike? He’s my new friend. I like the school here. I don’t wanna go home!”
Riley didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t tell her son she was running away, that she couldn’t return to Marietta because she loved Mitch.
For him, this was probably a one-time thing—she’d learned the hard way that making love with someone didn’t necessarily mean they felt the same way she did.
