I couldn’t stop wondering how long she would stay for this time. I scrubbed my face as memories, ones I didn’t like to think about, hit.
Stefano’s wedding day had dawned bright and clear. I had arrived at his place early, helping him set up. Maxx and Chase were there, as well as Stefano’s brothers. We had everything ready in short order. The entire day was filled with laughter. Kelly was everywhere, snapping pictures, taking candid shots, setting up more formal pictures to please Rosa. From my seat, I had a clear view of her as she slipped around, taking pictures of the brief ceremony. She looked beautiful, her dark hair gleaming in the sun, a bright smile on her face. Our eyes met time and time again during the day. Glances that held and smoldered. Beckoned and promised. The emotion of the day was heightened, strumming in my veins. Every chance I got, I touched her. She sought me out to do the same. Fast kisses when no one was looking, longer, lingering ones in the kitchen, the hall, and one intense set of foreplay locked in the bathroom had me anxious for the day to be done. How it had happened, I didn’t know, but every time she came back, I felt more. Her visits became more frequent, our time together more intimate. Our goodbyes longer, the pain of her departing more intense. But I let her go every time, knowing that was what she needed. Or at least, it used to be.
She came home with me. In my room, I watched her as I locked the door behind me, my frantic need morphing into something else. Something more tender, more intense, and deeper. Fabric whispered as it fell to the floor. We kissed endlessly, each touch of our lips a silent conversation. Our caresses were soft, exploring. Her whispered pleas were music to my ears. Her body said what her mouth couldn’t.
I heard every word.
After, we lay wrapped together, a newer, powerful intimacy between us. Another shift had happened in our relationship. One more permanent and strong. We both felt it.
The next few days only solidified that. We were barely able to be apart. She found excuses to show up in the garage. I found reasons to be wherever she was. Sex became…more. One look or touch from her and I was ready. We were together every chance we got. In the barn, behind the garage, rolling together in the fields behind the house.
The storeroom was a personal favorite.
Until the day it came to an abrupt end.
I hadn’t seen her all morning, which was a rare occurrence now. After I closed the garage at noon, I headed to the house. Maxx and Charly had gone to Mary’s, but I knew Kelly was in the house. I headed upstairs, stopping in the doorway, freezing at the sight in front of me. The bags on the bed, Kelly busy loading up her camera equipment.
“What the hell?”
She spun at my voice.
“What are you doing?”
“Carl has an assignment. I have to get back to work.”
“When are you leaving?”
“In a couple of hours.”
“Hours?” I questioned. “When the hell were you going to tell me?”
She didn’t meet my eyes. “I was going to call from the airport.”
I grabbed her arm, spinning her to face me. “Call? You were going to call?”
“Yes.”
“And say what? Thanks for the great sex, but I’m off?”
She shook off my hold. “You know the rules, Brett.”
“Fuck the rules, Kelly. You know those changed. We both know those changed.”
She shook her head. “What did you expect? That I’d stay, and we’d play the happy couple?”
“There’s no playing, Kelly. We are happy.”
She zipped her bag shut. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
“I want you to talk to me.”
“I have nothing to say. I have a job, and I have to leave. You knew it would happen.”
“When will you be back?”
She shook her head, turning away. “I don’t know.”
Her words felt like a bomb going off in my chest.
“Will you be back?”
Her silence said it all.
“So, that’s it—nothing’s changed for you? All I am is a good fuck in between assignments?” I sneered. “You’re telling me I imagined what was growing between us? I’m the only one who felt it?”
“I never promised you anything.”
“Not in words. But you were right there with me. Things changed. We changed. And you’re scared,” I accused.
“Scared of what?”
“Of the fact that you’re falling in love with me.”
She shook her head. “No.”
I stepped closer. “You are. You’re lying to yourself. You keep coming back. Staying longer. We’re together every time.” I paused. “There’s no one else but you.”
“I haven’t been with anyone else either. But that doesn’t mean—”
I cut her off. “Yes, it does. That’s why you’re leaving. You feel something for me, and you’re afraid.”
Silence hung between us.