Page 90 of Fairground

She rolls her eyes. “No, unless you count this one that they’ve just offered me.”

“So, what you’re saying is, there isn’t anything that has you excited about returning except for this job?”

“Well…” She pauses, searching for the words. “My connections. My career. It’s all been there. Politics has been my life, Cash.”

I lean forward, my hand cupping her face gently. “Since you don’t have much waiting for you back in Charlotte but this job, let me remind you what you dohave here. You’ve got me. You’ve got a town that’s behind you. And you’ve got family here—people who care about you. Your sister, my siblings and their partners, and fuck, Rae, again, you’ve gotme. I’m yours and I’m here.”

She blinks up at me, her lips parting like she wants to argue, but no words come out.

“You say I don’t settle down. That’s because I’ve been waiting for the right woman. You’re it. You’re my type. You’re theonlytype I want.” My lips crash into hers in a pleading, desperate kiss. I don’t know how this ends—whether she decides to stay or goes for her career that’s waiting there for her. All I know is I’m not ready to let her go. Not now. Not ever.

I pull her into me, tucking her body against my chest, and then ease us both down onto the bed. She fits there so easily, like she was always meant to. My arms wrap around her, holding her tight, not because I’m trying to start something—God knows how badly I want to—but because right now, this feels like what we need more than sex.

She settles with her cheek over my heart, her breaths soft and even against my skin. I’m still completely naked, every inch of me exposed except the part of my heart I’m wondering if I should keep guarded. She’s fully clothed, but somehow, I’ve never felt closer to her than I do in this moment.

We lie there in the quiet, wrapped around each other like we can’t get any closer. Maybe this is what it’s supposed to feel like with the right person. There’s nothing to say. Nothing wehaveto do right now. Just this stillness between us, heavy with everything we’re both trying to understand.

What we mean to each other.

What’s coming next.

What we might lose if she leaves.

Outside the window, the sky fades from dusky blue to deep black, stars blinking awake one by one. The world slows. Breathes. I press a kiss to the top of her head, barely more than abrush of lips against hair, and she doesn’t move, doesn’t stir, just lets out a soft sigh.

Eventually, her breathing shifts. Slower. Deeper. She’s asleep. Safe. But I don’t close my eyes. I stare at the ceiling for hours, listening to the rhythm of her breath, the occasional rustle of sheets when she shifts in her sleep. And all I can think about is how much I love her. How badly I wanted to say it to her tonight. To whisper those words into the dark and mean them with everything I’ve got.

They hover right there, on the edge of my tongue, aching to be spoken. But I swallow them down. Because I can’t be the reason she stays. Not when she’s got this decision ahead of her. I can’t be a regret she’ll have for not pursuing her dreams. She deserves the space to figure it out for herself these next two weeks.

So, I hold her a little tighter, keep quiet, and let the silence stretch on. Long and slow and filled with everything I’m desperate to tell her and will. Just not yet.

Chapter 38: Cash

“When are the results going to be announced?” Regan asks as she strides into the office of the distillery, her cowgirl boots clicking easily on the floor.

She plops herself into one of the old leather chairs, kicks her feet up on Colt’s desk, and grabs one of the whiskey glasses he’s been trying to get me to sample for the last hour. Without hesitation, she throws it back like it’s water and smacks her lips with a satisfied grin.

“Ooh, now this one’s good. Is that a hint of cherry I’m tasting?”

I groan, the sound coming from so deep within my chest it feels like it rattles my heart. It’s the same heartbroken groan I’ve found myself doing all week since Rae told me about her Charlotte job offer.

“Dammit, Regan. That was mine.”

“Relax. It’s not like you were drinking it anyway. Did you expect it to enter your stomach via osmosis?”

And she’s right. I wasn’t. I swore to Rae—and to myself—that I wouldn’t taste the new holiday blend that I worked on until shewas here with me. The first time I taste it, I want it to be from her lips, not from some damn, cold glass. I designed this blend for her. Because of her. It tastes like the few short months we’ve had together that will never feel like enough to me.

I shove the next shot Colt nudges my way back toward him. “I’m not taking that yet.”

Colt raises an eyebrow. “Why not? It’s your creation. You gotta try it.”

“It reminds me of Rae.”

Regan whistles low under her breath, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “Wow. Cash's whipped.”

Colt leans back in his chair with a shit-eating grin. “I like it. Love looks good on you, brother. Except for the part where you look like you’ve been punched in the gut.”

“She hasn’t decided yet,” I mutter, running a hand over my face. “About the job in Charlotte. She’s still thinking it over.”

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