Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 96512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“Fisher,” she says, shifting and looking up at me. “That’s still a very lonely place to be.”
“Is it?” I ask. “I have great friends. It’s not that I isolate myself. I’m just careful.”
“And when we were dancing in the kitchen, having fun with Riley and me, like you did with your parents, did you think that was real?”
I sigh. “That’s about as real as it gets. Kids can’t fake stuff like that. And you?” I look into her trusting, open blue eyes. “You’re exactly who you say you are.” I press a kiss to her lips and her warmth travels through my body.
I pull back, and she snuggles in closer to me.
“I’m going to miss you,” she says, echoing my thoughts.
“Me too.” I don’t know what else to say. Our lives are so different, lived at almost different ends of the country. I can’t offer a compromise or any kind of long-distance connection. It just wouldn’t work. And I won’t lie to her. I refuse to pretend.
“If you’re ever in New York, you should let me know,” I say.
She lets out a laugh, because what I’m saying is ludicrous. We both know it, but I said it anyway. I said it because I mean it. I don’t know why, but the idea of leaving without any possibility of ever seeing her again creates a slice of sadness that lodges in my gut. It doesn’t feel right.
She doesn’t ask me to call if I’m back in Star Falls, and I understand why. She doesn’t want to be waiting for me to ride back into town. I get that. She needs to get on with her life, and I need to get on with mine.
“You never know,” I say teasingly. “Grace Astor might tempt you to New York yet.”
She doesn’t say anything. Riley is her priority and Star Falls is her home. I get it all. I’m just pissed, honestly. Why did a woman I enjoy so much, the first woman I’ve ever been able to be one hundred percent myself with, turn out to have roots in a small town in Colorado? Why couldn’t she be in an apartment in the East Village or even a walk-up in Brooklyn.
“How’s Vivian?” she asks, changing the subject to safer ground.
“She left this morning. As I was talking to Gerry.”
She lets out a half laugh. “That must have been satisfying.”
“More than it should be. It’s not like I can keep him away from her forever.”
“She seems lovely. Not the kind of person who would go behind your back to talk to another label.”
I let out a cynical laugh. “You’re right. She doesn’t seem like that kind of person. But most people will take a call or a meeting if it might mean it could earn them more money. That’s just human nature.”
“Well, it’s not how we do things in Star Falls,” she says.
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “I think that’s probably true.”
I think Rosey was right. Star Falls is a magical place. It’s a place I’ll be sad to leave, but I’ll be forever grateful I got to spend some time here.
THIRTY
Juniper
Fisher told me I got the choose what we did tonight, our last night together. He suggested we take a helicopter ride over the mountains and he could arrange a dinner for us somewhere special.
The way I see it, there’s nowhere as special as Star Falls.
“Really?” Fisher says as he pulls up outside Grizzly’s. “This is where you want to go?”
“Are you saying there’s something wrong with Grizzly’s?” I ask, arching an eyebrow at him.
“Absolutely not. Best wings on earth.”
“Right,” I say. “Your favorite. You need to have the full Star Falls experience tonight. Who knows if you’ll ever experience its magic again.”
He grins at me like I’m the most thoughtful woman on the planet when all I’ve done is bring him to the local bar. “But this isn’t the final destination tonight,” I say. “So don’t get too comfortable.”
We head into the bar and Byron and Rosey are already seated. “First, on your Star Falls experience: Wings, pool, and your best friend. What more could you want?”
He slides his hands around my waist and presses a kiss to my head. “You know a way to a man’s heart.”
My stomach flips when he says heart. Have I reached his heart? He’s definitely in mine. I think he has been since the moment I laid eyes on him in Grizzly’s all those months ago.
We’re not just reliving Fisher’s Star Falls experience. I’m reliving my Fisher experience.
“Did I ever tell you that I first saw you in Grizzly’s? It was just around the time of the opening of the Club.”
“You said,” he says. “I still don’t know how I didn’t see you and hit on you immediately.”
“Oh, I kept my distance. I wasn’t… this is a small town, and I wasn’t used to seeing a man I… seeing a man like you.”