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I push the inevitable heartache aside, focusing only on this moment together. I’ll deal with tomorrow when it comes. Right now, I just want to memorize every detail of her. The flutter of her lashes, her quickened breath, the sweet taste still lingering from her kiss.
ChapterEleven
Bishop
McKay stayswith me for the rest of the day. Since we’re busy, I’m able to keep my hands—and lips—to myself, though barely. By dinnertime, I decide to invite her back to my place. I’m not sure what can happen between us, but I do want to spend more time with her.
Since I don’t have much in the fridge, I pull out a lasagna from the freezer that Knightly dropped off last week. Yes, I know, my sister babies me a lot. But I could never take that joy away from her, so I let her mother me. Hey, I’m just being a good brother.
“This is delicious,” McKay says between bites. “But do you ever cook for yourself?”
“I know how, but it’s only me so I really don’t do it often,” I explain to her. “How about you?”
“I can survive in the kitchen, but I’m more of a takeout pro,” she admits sheepishly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Before my dad fired me, I was working sixty to eighty hours a week.”
“And he still fired you?” I ask incredulously.
“He cut my position. Claimed it didn’t make sense to keep me on when someday I would get married and stay at home with my children,” McKay explains bitterly, shaking her head.
“Right, I forgot your dad is a misogynistic asshole,” I reply with a scowl.
“I wish I could defend him.” She sighs, pushing her empty plate away. “So what about you? What will you do after the festival ends? Is there something planned for Christmas?”
I shrug. “The big holiday events happen at the resort. My siblings handle all that now.” I dust my hands together. “Stopped being my problem when I sold Damian my share of the business.”
“Why would you do that?” McKay asks curiously.
“I’m a simple man, I like what I do. Plus, Damian is better suited for it,” I say, taking her plate to the kitchen. I don’t add how suffocated and adrift I felt trying to run an empire I never wanted.
McKay follows me, leaning against the counter. “I think you do plenty here.”
“Not many would agree with you on that,” I reply wryly, rinsing the dishes.
“So tell me, why is a great guy like Bishop Harris single?”
I pause, shoulders tensing. “The women I’ve dated were just passing through. Never stuck around long,” I say tightly. Can’t blame them for seeing this small-town life isn’t enough.
“Oh,” McKay murmurs, glancing away. The unspoken implication hangs between us. She’s no different.
“I didn’t mean you,” I add quickly. “Just … you get the idea.” I turn to face her with a sigh, knowing I’ve killed the light mood.
Still, I decide to elaborate. “A couple years back, my live-in girlfriend wanted me to sell everything and move with her to LA. Needless to say, we broke up, and she left.”
“You didn’t love her enough to do that. I’m sure that with the right woman you’ll do just about anything,” McKay states.
I shake my head. “More that I just can’t see my life outside of Kentbury. As I said, I’m a simple guy.”
“Have you tried living somewhere else?”
“College. I went to Boston and stuck around a couple years after graduating. Worst years of my life.” I grimace at the memory. “I’m not made for big cities.”
“At least you know what you want in life,” McKay says wistfully, a note of longing in her voice. “Must be nice to feel so sure of your path.”
She gazes out the window, brow furrowed, lost in thought. I sense her turmoil, that inner struggle to find meaning and purpose. Impulsively, I reach out and give her hand a comforting squeeze.
“You’ll find your place,” I assure her gently. I wish I could convince her to do it here, but the last thing she needs is someone trying to influence her. She has to find herself. “Just give it time.”
“Grandma said the same,” McKay replies, her gaze distant. “This place feels like home, but at the same time, I know I’m only saying that because I’ve never really belonged anywhere before. It’s like when someone says ‘I love you’ for the first time, and you think they’re your forever, just because you’ve never heard it from anyone else.”
