“What if you stayed?” So much for not being stupid.
“What?”
He should have just stuffed his face with the toast and waved goodbye, but he was in it now. “I mean, you can theoretically work anywhere, right? Is there something you need to be getting back for?”
“No.” She dragged the word out several syllables.
“Then you could stay a few more days. Get in over at the spa for some pampering.” Maybe if it wasn’t just for him, she wouldn’t think it weird.
Paisley studied him for a long time, dark eyes serious. “What is this, Ty?”
He didn’t have a good answer. “I don’t know. I just... don’t want you to go yet.” The admission left him feeling exposed and vulnerable. He kind of hated it and wished he could rewind the last few minutes and take it back.
But at last, she gave a slow nod. “Okay, I’ll stay. If you’re sure you’re okay with it.”
Cupping his free hand behind her nape, her brushed her lips with his, resisting the urge to linger. “I’ll see you when I get home.”
Snatching another slice of toast and some bacon, he headed for the door.
“Ty?”
At the threshold he paused, looking back. “Yeah?”
“Be safe.”
“Always.”
Still feeling the warmth of her lips, he headed out to do his job.
Chapter 5
As an engine cranked up outside, Paisley stood in the kitchen, barefoot, in Ty’s shirt, lips still tingling from his kiss as her ears rang with “See you when I get home.” Duke chuffed at the door. The coffeemaker burbled. On the counter behind her, the breakfast they’d made lay cooling. In the sudden silence, the doubts came creeping in like ghosts, sapping away the flirty, happy buoyancy that had carried her through the morning.
She wasn’t ready to go home. Above and beyond the dread of what might be waiting for her, she hadn’t wanted to leave Ty and the little bubble he’d created this weekend. But she’d been prepared for the inevitable departure. The moment he’d gotten that phone call, she’d been trying to stuff all the messy feelings back into a box so he wouldn’t see how disappointed she was that they were losing their last few hours. Fake it ’til you make it at its finest.
She hadn’t been prepared for him to ask her to stay.
The request had alarm bells sounding from the perimeter wall around her heart. Keeping things easy and casual with him was already so incredibly hard, even before they’d both been seduced by the nostalgia of the way they used to be. She wasn’t under any delusions that they’d been doing anything else. They both kept reaching for the past, for the familiar. There was a comfort in it. It seemed they were both at a place where they needed comfort.
But it was a dangerous game to play. Where was the line between then and now? It should have been easy to see. Eighteen years should have been a stark divide. They’d been apart for so much longer than they’d been together. But it was hard to hold on to the pain of all that time and distance when faced with the living man. The man who’d admitted to thinking of her for years after they’d parted.
Once, he’d been her everything.
She had never been able to put away all the what ifs. Not really. It was why she’d begun writing romance in the first place, needing the comfort of that dream that he’d come back for her. Over and over, she’d played it out on a fictional screen. And then she’d written about the moving on. The letting go. Those books had healed her. But a small, probably stupid, part of her had never stopped hoping. Indulging that hope now was like playing Russian Roulette with her heart. He’d nearly destroyed her once. What were the odds he’d do anything else this time around?
Unwilling to face the contemplation of that uncaffeinated, Paisley willed herself into motion, pouring the coffee, plating up French toast and bacon. She grabbed extra for herself and Duke. In her world, no bacon was left behind. Munching on a piece, she began opening cabinets, searching for the maple syrup. Ah ha. Last upper cabinet by the fridge. As she retrieved the bottle, some kind of card fluttered to the floor.
Scooping it up, she glanced at the formal type. Another wedding invitation?
…celebration of life for Garrett Michael Reeves.
Oh.
Her heart gave a painful squeeze. Garrett Reeves was as much a part of her high school memories as Ty. The two had been friends from the cradle, and she remembered them cheerfully saying they’d be friends to the grave. Even on their way into the Army together, she didn’t think it had occurred to them that the end could come so much sooner for one or both of them. She’d been gone from Coopers Bend for years, but even she’d heard about Garrett’s death in combat. Ty had said nothing about it, and she hadn’t asked because it would’ve been diving into the deep end. She didn’t need to ask to know how he was doing. They’d been brothers in all but blood. Garrett’s loss would have devastated him.
That this invitation was shoved away in a cabinet said it wasn’t a thing he wanted to think about. It was a good reminder that this Ty had serious wounds she knew nothing about. No matter what happened, nostalgia wouldn’t hide those wounds forever.
Was agreeing to stay a mistake?
Carrying the food to the table, she called the one person who’d be completely honest with her.
Emerson picked up on the third ring. “Hey!” She sounded breathless.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“No. Mooch just decided to scale the kitchen cabinets again. Caleb’s got him. When are you getting home? He could do with a play date with Duke to work off the excess energy.”
“About that.”
Her tone immediately turned wary. “What?”
Buying herself some time, Paisley nibbled on bacon,
