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PHOEBE
Ididn’t want to leave. But Dallas seemed to want me to go, so what choice did I have?
“Ready?” he asked once I was settled in the passenger seat of his truck.
I nodded, trying to hide the fact that my heart was breaking. “Ready.”
It was ridiculous to have this reaction. I’d spent an entire night with Dallas, and now he was taking me to the cabin where my cousin would be getting married today. He would then head off to find someone who could get my SUV to the town mechanic.
But after spending the past few hours in this man’s bed, I couldn’t imagine my life without him. Dallas, meanwhile, had gone stone-faced and silent since Emerald’s fiancé showed up at his door, asking if mine was the wrecked vehicle he’d just passed.
“You should come to the wedding tomorrow,” I blurted as we started up the road to Bo’s dad’s cabin. “You can be my date.”
Silence. I held my breath, anxious to hear his answer. Terrified he’d say he never wanted to see me again. Instead, he just laughed.
“Your fancy friends don’t want me there.”
Fancy friends? What was he talking about?
As though sensing my question, he continued. “The Phillips family practically owns this town. Bo’s a good guy, but the rest of the family doesn’t really think much of us mountain folk.”
“Mountain folk?”
“Yep. That’s what I am. To people who don’t get it, anyway. Here we are.”
He’d pulled into the driveway while I was staring at him, trying to make sense of his words. I wasn’t getting out of the car until we talked this out.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“Doing what?”
“Pushing me away.”
He looked over at me then, and I guessed what he was thinking. What was my plan? To give up my job and move up here to the mountains, where I couldn’t even get a cell phone signal?
Yes. That was my plan. That was exactly what I wanted. If it meant I got to see him again...and every day for the rest of my life.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“It was just sex to you,” I said. “And I know it was my first time, but I felt something. I still feel something.”
“I felt a lot of things.” He looked over at me, propping his left arm on the steering wheel. “Things I was hoping to explore after the wedding when I talk you into waiting at my place for your car to be ready.”
I held back a smile. “That could be days.”
He gave a nod. “Or weeks.”
My heart was soaring. He wanted me in his life after today. But what did that mean?
“My job,” I said, more to myself than him.
My mind was racing as I tried to work through the logistics. It wasn’t like I was married to my job. I had fun as a barista, but it was basically a temporary gig while I figured out my next steps.
“You don’t need it,” he said. “I have enough to take care of all your needs. There are jobs in town if you want to keep working. I’m sure the convenience mart could use someone who can make a decent cup of coffee.”
My heart was full. I had no idea what any of this meant, but he wanted me to stick around a little longer. Together, we could figure out where this was going.
“I think I might have fallen in love with you, Phoebe,” Dallas said. “I know it’s soon and I don’t want to scare you off, but the last thing I want is for you to think this was just about sex to me. Not at all.”
