Page 123 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
If she’d just let him in…
Maybe he could be her future.
“You’re afraid, Lia. I get that. But—”
“Of course I’m afraid,” she cut him off. “This thing between us, it won’t last. Love never lasts. And I don’t want you to hurt me.” She squeaked out the last few words, her chest rising and falling too quickly, her face pale as she clamped her lips shut.
He suspected she hadn’t even meant to say all that aloud.
His heart ached for her. For himself.
She was so terrified, and he wished he knew what to say or do to get through to her. For the first time in his life, he wished he was a man of words.
But he wasn’t an eloquent talker, and besides…
Dahlia didn’t like pretty words. She liked action… and honesty.
With a sad smile, he brushed his knuckle down her cheek and decided to go for the raw, unedited truth. “I’m gonna hurt you, Lia.”
Her lips parted on a gasp, her eyes wide. But her gaze collided with his.
He’d shocked her enough to at least get her attention.
He smiled to soften the blow. “It’s inevitable that at some point, I’m gonna hurt your feelings, and I’m gonna annoy you, and I’m gonna make you cry.” She jerked away from him, but he dropped his voice to a low hum and kept going. “But I’m also going to make you laugh, and I’m going to make you feel safe.” He brushed her hair behind her shoulder, lightly touching her neck. His thumb skimmed her jawline and rested just below her ear. “You’re gonna call me an idiot and you’re gonna call me ‘my love,’ because that’s the journey… and I want to walk it withyou.”
Gently coaxing her forward, he pulled her into a kiss, and any hesitancy she might have shown melted away the moment their lips touched. She sank into a kiss that grew deep and passionate. It was heavy with emotion and nearly impossible to pull out of.
But he did.
He leaned back long enough to whisper, “Let me be that for you. Let me be your man.”
Her tearful gaze met his, and he saw a world of emotions. Fear, yes, but also want and need and… and love.
He knew for a fact that she loved him… or at least, she wanted to love him.
She wanted this as much as he did.
But would she find the courage to admit it?
43
Dahlia’s apartment had never felt so small.
She could hear JJ getting changed in the other room the next morning as she fussed with the coffee maker.
Once again, time seemed warped as their goodbye drew near. The seconds flew by too quickly as the hour of his flight grew close. But at the same time, the wait felt interminable.
It was a countdown to another goodbye.
It was the last moments before the inevitable.
She leaned forward until her forehead rested against the cabinets as the pot filled. The smell of fresh coffee wafted up her nose as the sound of it brewing drowned out the noises of JJ moving around in the other room.
She’d ordered a car for him, and he ought to be packed any moment now. It wasn’t like he’d brought much for such a short visit.
The pot was full by the time he came out. His hands were tucked in his pockets, and while he was often quiet, his silence as he leaned against the counter beside her felt… wrong.
There was something heavy and strained about it.
