Page 80 of The Sweetest Taboo

"It's okay."

"Baby, I'll be there for Halloween, and we can take Flora trick-or-treating together. I promise. You tell her that, okay?"

I believed him. I trusted the arsehole. Goddamn it all to hell!

"I'm going to miss you," my voice came out in a whine, and I was mortified.

He laughed. "I'll miss you, too. The cell signal sucks on the trail, so I won't be able to call you. I don't want you to get the wrong idea and bolt."

"Now, why would you say that?" I lay in bed with my earbuds.

"Turn on the camera."

"No, it's fine."

"Isha, do as you're told."

I turned on the light and the phone camera.

"You're sulking."

I sucked my lower lip into my mouth, pouting. "How long can we do this long-distance thing?"

“For however long we need to. You look beautiful. I miss you, baby." He was in his bed. We'd had enough video calls that I was now familiar with his house. It was a simple wood cabin with all the modern amenities. I liked it very much.

"You're going to be even busier with the winter calving in November." Tears sprang in my eyes for no good reason. I was turning into a bloody sap.

"I love how you drop those rancher terms," he teased.

I smiled as he wanted me to. "Flora is going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss her, too."

"Rowan? Are there any women on this trail with you?"

"We have a few hands who are women. You know that." He winked at me. "You jealous, darlin'?”

"No, not really. I trust you."

He was silent for a long moment, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "You do?" he asked hoarsely, his voice full of emotion.

"I do," I admitted. He'd worn me down. He'd showered me with love and affection, fallen in love with my daughter, and made her fall in love with him. How on earth could I resist him?

"Thank you."

"No, thank you, Rowan, for not letting me go."

"Not once I found you. The universe was looking out for me when I walked into Claudio's apartment that day. The universe was looking out for me when Ace met you at that bar in London. You…you and Flora make my life better."

I touched the screen of the phone. "You're going to come back, right?"

"You bet your sweet ass, darlin'."

Those were the longest ten days. No calls, no nothing. I got a text from him once in a while when he had cell signal.

"I miss him," I confessed to Mick. "I don't know what to do. How to make this work?"

Flora was sitting with Art at a table while I was at the bar with Mick at his pub.

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