Page 1 of That Kiss

Chapter 1

Decker

Three Months Earlier . . .

“I’m sorry Decker, I can’t—” Camilla shakes her head, her hands covering her mouth as tears fill her eyes. “I’m so sorry, but I can’t marry you.”

“Uh . . .” I blink several times, completely taken aback. It’s not that I’m cocky; I just truly thought she and I were on the same page. “Okay,” I say before putting my hand on my knee and standing back up. I’m still holding the ring, unsure of what to do or say next.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.” She stands up, walking over to the edge of the deck. Her back is toward me, but I can see her shoulders shaking as she buries her face in her hands. “This isn’t how I?—”

“Hey,” I reach out toward her, my hand finding hers and pulling her into my arms. We stand there for several minutes, her face buried in my chest. “What’s going on?” I pull her back to look into her now-red, swollen eyes. “I have to admit that this is not at all how I thought you would respond to that question, but now I’m worried. Is there something going on I’m not aware of? Did I do something?”

She shakes her head, patting her eyes dry. “You did nothing wrong—you’re perfect, actually. It’s me. After our conversation the other night about you possibly moving back to Colorado in the future, I realized this is all moving too fast for me.”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry, baby,” I say, stepping toward her. “We can slow things down. I know we’ve only been dating for six months, but I just thought—” I laugh to myself. “Well, I’m not sure what I thought, but clearly, it wasn’t the right thing.” She tries to smile but there’s more she’s not saying; it’s written all over her face. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

She nods, wringing her hands together. “It’s not that I don’t love you, because I do.” She grabs my hand as if that will somehow soften the blow. “But my entire family is here in Texas, and you know how close I am with them, and I just . . .” Her chin begins to quiver again so she blurts it out: “I can’t imagine living almost a thousand miles away from them.”

“Okaaay,” I say slowly, trying to follow her.

“I can’t commit to you knowing you might move back home. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us.”

“I see.” I nod, trying to hide my disappointment, but I’m sure it’s evident in my tone. “So not taking it slower, but ending it altogether then?”

She stands there with eyes full of tears. “I came over tonight to tell you how I was feeling about it all. I had no idea,” she says, trying to hold back tears, “I swear.”

“It’s fine. I know you didn’t, baby, but why throw this away on a maybe? It’s up to me when it comes to wanting to stay in Texas or move back to Colorado, so it’s not up to fate.”

“Because you’re not truly happy here, Deck. We both know that.”

I stare back at her, wanting to tell her that’s not true, but I won’t do her the disservice of lying. When I moved down here a year ago to manage my family’s secondary ranch location, I was elated. I wanted a fresh start—a new landscape where a certain someone wasn’t forever ending up in my line of vision. Maybe it was to prove myself to my dad, or maybe it was because I felt like I was being a hero to my twin brother, Ranger, letting him stay in Colorado to chase after the woman of his dreams. Whatever the reason, it’s slowly fading.

“I want to be happy here, Cam. That’s why I proposed.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t be your happiness, Decker. You’ll end up resenting me if you stay here and miss out on your siblings’ new babies being born back home, and the exciting business ventures Slade Brewing is rolling out. I want us to work, but I can’t ask you to stay.”

I give her the weakest smile I can muster. “On that note, I guess I should probably walk you out then?”

We walk in silence back through the house so she can grab her things before making our way toward her car. When we get to it, I reach for the door and open it. She pauses, reaching for my hand, but I move it away.

“Decker, wait—” She chews her bottom lip like she’s unsure.

“It’s okay, Cami. No need to force something that isn’t meant to be. I won’t ask you to go against your heart.” I slide my hands into my jeans, turning halfway back toward my house.

“So that’s it?”

I shrug. “Guess I’ve never really been too good at goodbyes.” This time, I don’t turn back around. The echo of the gravel crunching beneath my feet sounds so loud against the quiet June evening. Just as I reach for the front door, I hear her engine start, the flicker of her headlights bouncing off the house as she shifts the car into reverse and drives off.

Maybe I should have hugged her one more time. Maybe I should have told her I’d stay. But I let my pride get the best of me. I close the door behind me, locking it then heading straight to the kitchen to grab a beer.

The cold ale tastes like instant relief going down my throat. I close my eyes, taking another long pull, letting the bitterness linger. I’m about to close the fridge when I see the still-unopened bottle of chilled champagne on the shelf. I push it aside, grabbing a second beer and walking back out to the deck.

The Adirondack chair scratches across the floor as I kick it to the side, taking a seat on the outdoor sofa next to the fire pit. I finish my first beer and quickly move on to the second. “Should have grabbed the case,” I mutter as I lean back against the cushions.

After finishing my second beer, I fish the ring out of my pocket again and stare at it, the fire dancing across the edges of the diamond. I have the sudden urge to hurl it out into the darkness, but instead, I put it back into my pocket and hang my head in my hands.

I feel like a failure. I thought coming down here was the second chance I needed—that being away from home, I’d get over the hit-it-and-quit-it lifestyle, find someone, and actually settle down. But here I am with a broken heart, wanting to crawl back home with my tail between my legs, to tell my dad he was right: I wasn’t ready to be down here on my own.

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