“Why?”
“Why not?” he countered and gave her shoulders a squeeze.
Amazing, even though the heat of his hands was sliding through the fabric of her shirt to seep into her body, she still felt cold.
“Look, Mia,” he said softly, “we’ve had a good time, right?”
A good time. She sighed. “Yes.”
“So why let it end before either of us is ready?”
Because if she stayed much longer, she didn’t know how she would leave at all. And she had to leave, she told herself firmly. She couldn’t stay with a man who didn’t love her. It would kill her by inches.
Shaking her head, she said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why the hell not?”
She smiled. He really had a hard time when people didn’t fall in with his plans. “Because we both have lives we have to get back to. I take my final exams soon and then I’ll have to get busy looking for a job—”
“Royal School District is going to hire you,” he said, brushing that concern aside.
“Maybe,” she said. “But there’s no guarantee. So I’ll have to apply to school districts in Midland and Houston, too.”
He scowled at her. “You didn’t tell me.”
No, she hadn’t. Because she hadn’t wanted to think about it herself. The thought of moving away from Royal made her heartsick. She hated the thought of leaving before Alex came back and she was really hoping that Royal would hire her. And if they didn’t, maybe she’d end up looking for a job here in town until everything was back to normal. Leaving without having the mystery of Alex’s disappearance settled seemed impossible.
Besides, she didn’t want to move from Royal, the only home she’d ever known. If she did, that would mean she wouldn’t even be able to catch the occasional glimpse of Dave around town. Maybe that would be better, but at the moment, she didn’t think so.
“The point is,” she said, trying not to think about moving, “our time together’s over.”
He was still frowning when he said, “At least stay through the TCC Halloween party. That’s only a few days away.”
“Why?” she asked, suddenly so tired she wanted to go lay down with a pillow over her head.
“Because I’m asking you to,” he whispered.
He never asked, she told herself silently. He ordered. Or growled. Or dictated. But he was asking her, and as she looked into his fog-gray eyes, she knew she wasn’t ready to leave. Not yet. “I’ll stay.”
* * *
Three days later, Mia stepped out of the ranch house in time to see her VW being towed away. She took an instinctive step or two to chase after it, even knowing there was no way she could catch it.
She glanced around the ranch yard, hoping to find someone to tell her she’d just had a hallucination. Instead, she saw Dave, standing beside a brand-new, shiny, luxury SUV.
For the past several days, he’d been…different. Ever since their talk in the library the night he’d gotten the deal with TexCat, things had changed between them. Oh, they were still together every night, but even their lovemaking had a different feel to it. Like a prolonged goodbye that was tearing Mia apart, piece by piece.
Now, as he watched her, she saw the same expression on his face that had been there the past few days. Not cold, exactly. But more…distant than she was used to. It was as if every time he saw her, he was letting go. She felt as though there were a giant clock inside her ticking off the minutes, and when that clock hit zero, there would be nothing left between her and Dave.
So instead of enjoying their last week together, they were each of them holding back, protecting themselves and their hearts. If she had any sense, she’d leave. But she just couldn’t. Even though being here was painful, being away from Dave would be worse.
He walked toward her, every step long and determined. His features looked carved from granite and his gray eyes gave nothing away.
When he was close enough, she asked, “Who took my car? And why?”
“That’s not a car,” he countered. “It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Just yesterday you got stuck on the side of the road coming home from Alex’s.”
“I just needed some gas.” Fine, she probably needed a new gas gauge, too.
“No, you needed a new car and now you’ve got one.” He pointed at the silver beauty.
“You did not buy me a car,” she whispered.
“Yeah, I did. Deal with it.” His voice was clipped, his eyes fierce, as if he was preparing for battle.