Page 80 of Making New Plans

“But how would that work exactly?”

The back of my neck prickled with heat, and it wasn’t because of the chili this time. I spat out a few of the ideas I had yet to act upon. “I could do my design work anywhere, attend meetings virtually, be present for client meetings and major milestones here.”

Sal frowned. “Where would you live?”

I drummed my fingers on the table, and my voice sharpened. “I have an apartment in Boston, not here.”

“You could change that, you know. I’m sure I could find someone—”

“No.”

Her eyebrows lifted to her hairline. “No? What do you plan to do, stay at the lodge every time you drop in for a checkup?”

I scowled at her. “Would you rather have me paying for two rentals?”

“Well, if you think you’ll spend more time here then you could sublet your Boston one.”

My stomach twisted. That would be a very permanent change. Giving up Boston to live here most of the time? I couldn’t still work at a Boston firm “full-time” if I did that. Hell, would clients even want to deal with a guy who didn’t live in the same state as their buildings? Maybe, maybe not. I doubted my firm would keep me on if I moved out of state. Sure, I wanted to open my own firm one day, but that required selling the lodge or pulling a bank heist. Neither of which I was particularly inclined to do at the moment.

I thought I’d thrown these questions and doubts out the window last night when all I could think about was Chloe. But apparently just tossing them aside didn’t mean those shadows couldn’t creep right back in.

Sal watched the indecision settle over me and leaned back, her fingers finding the head of her cane in a self-assuring gesture. “Does Chloe know?”

I snorted. “Know what? That I want to open my own firm one day? Yes. That I’m disinclined to sell the lodge? Yes. That I’m still employed and a resident in Boston? Yes.”

Sal shook her head. “Does she know that you don’t know what to do next?”

My shoulders hunched. The first cold bite of fear took a chunk of my warm happiness from earlier. That fear felt strangely like an aversion to losing Chloe. Did she expect a sit-down talk about our future? Did she even want me to stay long-term? We’d had one night together, and I’d hoped to be with her every night until… Until what?

My jaw clenched as more unanswered questions threatened to drown my good mood. Why was Sal bringing all this up? What did she care about my plans? She never had before. Why the hell couldn’t the world just let me have this one spot of sunshine?

I shoved my chili away, my hands trembling with anger. “None of that matters right now, Sal. And it’s none of your business. If Chloe wants answers, she’ll ask for them.”

Worry stole into Sal’s eyes. “Hunter—”

I held up my hand. “Please. Don’t. Just let me be happy for once.”

The color drained from her face. Guilt joined the host of other unpleasant emotions swirling in my stomach as I got up, put a few bills by my unfinished chili, and walked out.

29

Chloe

When Hunter came back from lunch, he pulled me into my office and kissed me like a man out of time. He buried his fingers in my hair, cradling my head. The heat of his body pinning me against the closed door and the desperation of his lips left my mind blank and my body in a frenzy.

After several minutes or hours, he broke away so we could both gasp for air. I saw the remnants of storm clouds dispersing behind his eyes. I cupped his cheek with my palm. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, resting his forehead against mine. “I am now. I wish…” His chest expanded as he breathed deeply, his gaze trailing over my face. “I wish we could shut off the world for a while. Be with only each other for as long as we wanted.”

My heart stuttered. “If we invented a pause-world button, we could do that anyway because we’d be billionaires.”

His lips twitched with amusement. “I’ll get right on it.”

I gave his lips a small peck. “But it’d have to wait until after tomorrow night because Gina, Rose, and Sarah would kill me if I missed the girls’ paint night we so painstakingly carved out time for.”

He shrugged. “No problem. It’ll take me at least until Sunday to create a world-changing invention.”

I laughed, and his face brightened completely.

---