“Yes, I will.”
“Aaron knows how to go about that if you need help with it after I leave,” he fretted.
“Trust me, I know how to file a restraining order,” she said, irked to hear the unintended hint of bitterness in her own tone.
After a moment, he nodded. “Yes, I suppose you do.”
She sank to the couch, her hands clasped in her lap. She should probably offer tea or something, but she was just too wiped-out by the events of the day to make the effort.
Andrew sat beside her, covering her tightly gripped hands with one of his own. “Are you okay?”
“I’m tired,” she replied candidly. “It’s been a long day. A long week.”
He nodded. “You should rest.”
“I will. I think I’ll turn in early tonight.”
“Good plan. You’re sure you won’t come to Dallas with me? You could rest there while I’m at work. My place is comfortable, and there’s a nice, cool patio with padded furniture where you can put your feet up and work from a laptop.”
She had to admit it sounded tempting, especially when she thought of Andrew joining her on that patio for a cold iced tea after work. The image made her heart ache, which made her protective barriers snap into place again. She withdrew her hands from beneath his and shifted a few inches away from him on the couch.
“Sounds lovely,” she said lightly, “but I really can’t. Just as you need to be back in your office tomorrow, I need to be here.”
She could tell that he wanted very badly to argue. She imagined that Andrew was unaccustomed to being turned down when he presented an argument so logically and persuasively.
“I’m disappointed,” he said, sounding sincere, “but I’ll accept your decision. Maybe you can come with me another time soon to meet my family.”
She replied noncommittally, “Maybe.”
“So, I’ll be back next weekend. I’ll stay in touch by phone in case you need anything. I’ll leave all my contact information with you, though of course you can always reach me through Aaron, too.”
She nodded, thinking that it would be unlikely that she would need to contact him in the next week, but it would be good to have the information anyway.
“When I get back, I’d like to continue the conversation we tried to have earlier,” he continued. “About our options for the future. Maybe we’d rather do that in person than over the phone.”
Remembering that he’d casually listed marriage as one of those options, she swallowed hard. “Yes.”
As if he’d read her thoughts, he said, “I wish you would think about what I said. Marriage could be a good solution for us, both logistically and financially. It would allow us to raise our child together without worrying about visitation agreements and the problems inherent with long-distance parenting. I’ve got a nice apartment, but we could buy a house with a big backyard for her to play in. You could continue to work as the marketing and scheduling director for the resort of course. You’d be only four hours away, so you could make the drive as often as you want or need to, though much of your work can be done online.”
He had it all thought out, she mused dully. He might as well have read his talking points off a checklist. She lifted a hand to her temple, feeling a low throb begin there.
Andrew followed the movement with his eyes. “Do you have a headache?”
“Yes. Like I said, long day. It’s nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”
“You should rest, then. Can I get you anything?”
She shook her head, relieved by the change of subject. “No, thank you. But I think I’ll just turn in.”
“Would you like me to stay with you? Just in case you feel worse later?”
“I’m sure I’ll be asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. You should go.”
His expression inscrutable, Andrew nodded and stood. “I’ll be right across the street if you need me.”
Even though originally he’d planned to leave that evening, he’d decided to wait until morning to head out. Maybe he was tired from the chaotic events of the past couple of days, or maybe he was a little reluctant to leave. He hadn’t said, and she hadn’t been quite brave enough to ask, uncertain that she was prepared for his possible answer.
“I’ll be fine on my own,” she said.