Page 88 of A Montana Secret Admirer
“I know,” she whispered.
Reese froze where he stood. “You do?”
She let out a sad sounding laugh. “I think it’s obvious. But…” Serenity paused, choosing her words carefully. “I still think it would be safest if when you make your promises, it’s not fromacross the continent. I want you here, where I can look you in the eyes and give you the same thing. I… hope… that makes sense.”
He could understand where she was coming from and at least she was talking to him. They were actually having a conversation even though it was a little light. At least she was finally opening up about where she stood.
This made him want to get approval for that online course all the more.
“Reese?”
“Yeah, beautiful?”
“I love you, too.”
And just like that, Reese knew he wouldn’t be giving up. He’d make sure he got approval if it was the last thing he did.
There was one person he could call who might be able to help. If anyone could sway the board who decided these things, it was Noah.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“I don’t understandwhy you won’t just come visit. You’re like a five-minute drive.”
“Youknowwhy,” Serenity muttered into the phone. “Jane, I told you and Noah that if you breathe a word to Reese that I’m living in Rocky Ridge, I’ll murder you both.”
Jane let out an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, we’re not going to say anything. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try to sneak?—”
“It totally does mean I can’t sneak onto the property! He’ll see the car and start asking questions. Then the boys will?—”
“But it’s Christmas Eve. You’re supposed to spend it with family.”
“I’ll visit Mom and Dad tomorrow. I always do.”
Her sister released another groan that was far too exaggerated to be real. “I know he’s going to want to see you. And I know you want to see him. What I don’t understand is why you want to torture yourself by not?—”
“It will be torture to see him, Jane,” she murmured quietly. “It’ll be torture to see him, touch him, and know that in a few days, he’ll be gone again. I know you don’t understand what’s going through my head, and I’m not asking you to. I’m just asking that you listen to me when I tell you that I don’t think my heart would be able to take seeing him in person when there are no guarantees that we’ll end up together.”
Serenity didn’t have to see her sister to sense the fury coming off her. She was probably on the other end of this phone call rolling her eyes and wanting to curse her out. Serenity didn’t know what Jane said to Noah to keep him from telling anyone. Leo had been too distracted by Kat’s visit for him to realize where Serenity now resided, according to Jane.
Thankfully, for the most part, she’d managed to fly under the radar.
“It’s not fair to him, you know that, right? If he asks me to give him your address, what am I supposed to say? I’m sure he’s going to want to visit.”
“I don’t know. Make up an excuse. Tell him that I went out of town with the kids somewhere.”
“Serenity,” Jane admonished.
“What?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line, then Jane’s cold words came across loud and clear. “When are you going to accept that you can’t control everything? At some point, you have to enjoy your life. No one knows better than you that life is too short. It could change in an instant. What if Reese’s plane crashes on the way back to Georgia?”
Serenity’s stomach roiled, and she held a hand to it to quell her unease. She hadn’t thought about it that way. If this was the last time she’d be able to spend time with Reese, would she want to squander it?
No.
Tears prickled at her eyes, and she let out a heavy breath. “I’ll think about it.” That wasn’t really the problem. Seeing Reese at all had been the only thing she’d been able to think about over the last several days. And whenever she did, it made her sick to her stomach.
There was one point where she ran to the restroom just in case she lost control of the nausea.
