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She curled up against him. “Mmm, I could get used to that.”
“I’m hoping you will.”
She hesitated and then eased back onto the pillow and peered up at him through half-lidded eyes. When she chewed her lip, his breathing slowed.
Shit. Had she changed her mind?
She lifted her gaze to his. “At the event, when I was up at the podium, I really was a mess, wasn’t I?”
He released his held breath. “You were nervous. That’s all.”
She pushed up onto her elbows. “Last night, you said that people can misunderstand you because of how you look. For me, it’s partly how I look—I’m tall and fit, which can be intimidating. I’m also decisive, which makes my shyness seem like standoffishness. I don’t seem like someone who’d be terrified of doing interviews and meeting people.”
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “But you are, which is why I shouldn’t have thrown you to the sharks. However you decide to do this, I’ll be there.”
She nodded and then chewed her lip again. “I might have overreacted about you leaving the hotel.”
“No, you didn’t.”
She wrapped her hand around his, pulling it to her. “If I did, then I want to explain.” She took a deep breath and told him about her ex, a guy she’d been about to move in with when he—
“What?” Chris sat up abruptly. “He got pissy about you spending time with your dying mother?”
“He was trying to make his needs heard, and he expected me to reach out and apologize.”
“I don’t care what his reasoning was. I can screw up trying to do the right thing, but there’s no ‘right thing’ in that.”
She toyed with his fingers, her attention on them as she said softly, “He left me a letter. I’d been at appointments with Mom, and he’d been staying at my place, and I came home to that letter.”
Chris’s anger at this unnamed ex froze as he realized the connection. “Like I did,” he murmured. “I wrote a letter and walked out while you were in crisis.”
Her nose wrinkled, as if she didn’t like his wording. It was true, though. She had been in crisis.
“I just wanted you to know,” she said. “In case I did overreact.”
She looked up at him. “I said I was scared of a relationship, and I still am. I rebuilt my life after he left and Mom died, and I made it just the way I want it. I moved to the Yukon. I designed my perfect home. I got a dog. I wrote. I sold a book and launched a career. I have a dream life, and instead of wanting to add the one missing piece—love—I’m terrified that piece will cost me the rest.”
He opened his mouth, but she continued, “Last night, I realized that I didn’t get those things by playing it safe. I took a risk moving to a remote location. Took a risk building an off-grid house there. Took a risk sending out my book, especially under a male name. So now”—she met his gaze—“I’m ready to take another risk for something else I want very much.”
He pulled her to him in a deep kiss. Then he whispered, “I understand that you don’t want to lose any of that. I have to confess, though, that being with me might cost you one part of it.”
He swore he felt her heart stop as she looked up at him.
“Being in the Yukon,” she murmured. “You can’t see yourself there.”
“No… Tika.” He eased back. “I’m warning you now that I may try to win her away from you.”
Daphne sputtered a laugh. “Like to see you try.”
“Oh, it’s on. Give me three months, and I will be her second-favorite human.” He picked up his phone from the nightstand. “As for the Yukon question, while we aren’t at the moving-in stage, I have devised a future plan.” He opened his phone.
“Is that a spreadsheet?”
“Be happy it’s not a PowerPoint presentation. Okay, so I know your life is in the Yukon. I love what I’ve seen of it, but my work—and family—is in Vancouver. Work from home is a possibility for both of us, though I need time in Vancouver for meetings, especially at tax time. If you’re willing, I think we could swing dual residences. Summers in the Yukon. Winters—and tax season—in Vancouver.”
“Vancouver winters—”
“They’re rainy and cold, and you hate them. I remember that. So I’ve split the winter and fall between the two places. I would need to move. My apartment is tiny and not Tika-friendly. But the housing market is actually on the downswing right now, meaning I could afford the down payment on a condo in the suburbs as an investment. I’d rent it in the summer, while I’m up north.”
