Page 22 of Unstoppable Love

Lydia pouted at me, and I rolled my eyes.

“Thank you. You look pathetic as well this evening.”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “I mean, you were fine earlier, and now you seem sad. What happened at dinner?”

“Nothing. Mom and I went and saw Grams. She said some things about life that got me thinking.”

Like maybe my dream wasn’t so small. Maybe it was just right. The problem was the guy I’d always wanted to share it with was too large to fit inside that dream. Which meant the days of letting go of Cameron were coming faster than I’d be ready for, despite all my earlier promises.

What I said in the truck was all true. I’d always thought what I wanted was a small life. But I loved my life in New Haven. I loved the people—at least eighty percent of them. The town was growing some with people wanting to leave the city and do their own homesteading, so while we’d never become huge, there would be future opportunities there.

Heck, maybe I could work for the city. Or the county. Maybe marketing.

The thoughts ran through my mind as Lydia scanned the bar. Wouldn’t now be the perfect time to do something new? Maybe my job would let me work remotely and travel into the city occasionally. It wasn’t like we had a social media team. It was me.

There was nothing holding me to Denver anymore. Not Kip.

And I wasn’t sure that was where I wanted to be any longer.

“I don’t think I want to stay in Denver,” I admitted to Lydia. I was spinning my beer glass in a slow circle when she settled her hand over mine.

“What? You mean it?”

“I went for school. Stayed because of Kip, I guess, but I’ve always wanted to be here.”

“New Haven will be here whenever you want. What’s the rush?”

“I don’t know. It’s been a really weird and difficult twenty-four hours.”

Lydia squeezed my hand. “Then relax tonight. Think about it tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong. I’d love it if you moved back home, but rushing into things isn’t smart, either. You still have your apartment, right?”

“Yeah. And breaking my lease would cost two months’ rent, so that sucks.”

She grabbed her glass and clinked her rim against mine. “Tomorrow. Think about it tomorrow. Right now, I need you to smile like you’ve never been happier.”

I did, on instinct, but I still started to ask, “Why?—”

But it was the voice that came from behind me, rumbling right over my skin, that gave me my answer.

“Ladies. Didn’t realize we’d run into you here tonight.”

I spun on my stool and almost face-planted into Cameron’s gorgeous, firm, and muscular chest. No T-shirt like the one he wore could hide it.

I ignored him and the way my body was currently overheating at his mere presence and glanced over his shoulder. “Hi Gavin. How’s Josie?”

“Adorable as always, and thankfully, at a sleepover.”

One year younger than Lydia than me, Gavin became a single dad when we were still teenagers. His girlfriend at the time took off and bailed when sweet little Josephine was only a few months old, and Gavin, along with the rest of the Kelleys and half the town, helped him raise her. She was precocious and silly and rode her own pony better than I did.

“Bet you’re enjoying the night off then.”

He slipped into a stool between Lydia and me, and on my other side, Cameron took the last chair. I stayed focused on Gavin.

“I miss her already.” He rolled his eyes at himself.

I couldn’t help but feel a smidge of jealousy. Sure, he didn’t have a wife or Josie’s mom around, but he was a dad. A parent.

One of the few things I truly wanted in this world, and he was so damn good at it.

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