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“This is beautiful,” she said, taking a step forward, a step into the house.
And his chest did something weird. Completely unexpected. Almost like what he felt a heart attack would feel like, except it didn’t feel terrible. It felt almost good. Watching her admire his work, seeing her standing there in the house he was building.
“You’re doing this by yourself?” she asked.
“I do everything by myself.”
She shook her head. “Not anymore.” She tilted her head back and sun spilled over all that glory. “It’s Sunday,” she said. “I never miss church.”
“And I never have someone with me.” She smiled at that and he took hold of her chin and tilted it up toward him. “Think you’d mind missing it today?”
Her cheeks turned pink. “I’ve always felt like this place, the woods, was where I really felt the most spiritual, the most connected. Maybe that sounds silly.”
“Other than the times your dad helped me out—and he did help—I’ve never been to a church, so thankfully, I don’t think it sounds silly at all. The one good thing about living out here, even with my dad, was that not even he could erase the beauty of all of this.”
“No, it’s way too powerful for that.”
“I agree.”
He dropped his hand back to his side. “So, you’ll stay here today?”
She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, I will.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“YOU HAVEN’T BEEN around much lately.”
Shayna looked over at her dad. She had just finished serving him dinner. She hadn’t wanted to cancel their regular time, because she didn’t want to...
She was trying to remind herself that what was happening with Zane was not permanent. No matter how much she might want it to be.
Zane was gorgeous. Wonderful. More than she could have ever hoped for in a man. But he was a different sort of man. Way too different than she was.
At least, that was what she kept trying to remind herself. They didn’t talk about the future, and she tried not to think of it. But she knew that he didn’t intend to stay at the Fox property, and she couldn’t blame him. His intent was to leave. He was hardly going to change that for her. Nor could she ask him to. It wouldn’t be fair.
It wouldn’t be fair.
And so, she had sought to maintain her life, even though she spent nearly every night up at his cabin, exploring her desires, and his.
Touching him, tasting him.
Learning all of these new parts of herself. Who she was, and where her limits were. What was best left as a fantasy, and what lit her reality on fire.
But she knew that she couldn’t hollow out her existence, because when he left, she needed a life to go back to.
It would be changed. She knew that. Just as she would be. It wasn’t a terrible thing. Just something to keep in mind.
It was odd, though, the way that she had known her wallflower status would go on forever if she didn’t do something. The way that she felt her life with Zane couldn’t go on forever.
“I’ve just been keeping myself busy,” she said.
Her father’s gaze became far too keen. But then, of course it would. He knew people. Knew all about them. The flattering and the unflattering, and nothing much seemed to faze him.
But still. He knew her. And she imagined that it wasn’t terribly believable that she was just suddenly busy. Though, she didn’t think it would be terribly believable that she was engaging in a red-hot affair with a man who was never seen around town. A man who was only rumored to be back.
“You seem happy,” he said.
“I am,” she said. “I have been. I mean... I am.”
