Page 10 of Unravel You

“I know, but you know it won’t be the same.”

“What’s your second reason?”

“A quick visit to meet my parents won’t be enough. I want them to really get to know you. So I thought we could invite them over for a week or two.”

Why did I get the feeling this visit to meet his family had just escalated? “What exactly do you have in mind?”

He blew out air and glanced over at our pilot, as if he would have the precise words I needed to hear to say yes. Truth was, the more he said, the less I wanted to go to Atlanta with him.

“Okay. I will tell you. It’s not bad. The only reason I hesitate is because you have this tendency to run away from me.”

He wasn’t wrong. Even now, I wanted to get off this helicopter and go home. I never reacted well to change. Even though I’d been workin it, any kind of shift in my routine scared the hell out of me.“I’m strapped in. Where am I gonna go?”

“True.” He hooked his index finger in the harness and pulled. “I have a house in Atlanta that is big enough to host all of us. I thought we could all hang out.”

“Hang out? Was this your mom’s idea?”

“Yes.”

“Why couldn’t you tell me that?” I hated the idea of being in the same house as his family.

Only because of the pressure to have to be in likable mode twenty-four seven. I already knew how his mom felt about me. Why would she want me under the same roof as her? To torture me? or do right by her son and get to know me better, and see that I wasn’t a gold digger with long legs?

“Because I know I’m asking for a lot. Mom can be a bit much sometimes.” His honesty disarmed me.

What wouldn’t I do for this man who loved me and my son without reason?

The headset crackled again, and the pilot’s voice filtered through the speakers. “Is this good? I can get you closer.”

“No, this works. A walk sounds like a great idea.” He glanced down at his phone. “It looks like our lunch isn’t quite ready yet.”

“The nerve. They’ve had a full two hours,” I teased.

“Ninety minutes, really.” He winked.

We landed on a patch of land that looked as if it’d been conditioned for a helicopter—not exactly a landing pad, but it was clear enough of debris.

“How often do you come here?” I asked when the pilot took off, leaving us in an odd silence. My ears hadn’t adjusted to not having the loud rumble around me.

“Not very. Bridget used to come to Vail a lot.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

My face flushed at the mention of her name. Derek’s ex-wife had almost succeeded in taking away his company and everything he worked so hard for. She’d done it to feed her gambling addiction and to pay off a huge debt she’d incurred with some loan shark.

Despite all that, he had shown her kindness in the end, and in return for a divorce, he’d agreed to pay off whatever money she owed and let her go on her merry way.

“You think this was a good idea?”

“She’s never been to this cabin. This is only for us.” He took my hand and pulled me toward him.

We followed a path down the mountain. In the distance, the log cabin sat surrounded by pine trees. The whole scene had a postcard vibe to it.

“In the winter, this area is covered in snow. You can sit on the front porch and watch the skiers go by.”

“It’s beautiful.”

Sticks crushed under my pumps as we made our way to the clearing. The scent of burning wood and fresh pine lingered in the cool air and made me think of Christmas, which was the only time of year when Casa Grande smelled like that.

“That’s Vail Village down there.” He pointed at the line of buildings with German-style architecture. It was what I would imagine a village in the Alps would look like. “We can go for a walk after you change.”

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