“Probably a good plan,” Kelly said, then added, “but if you want my advice…”
“I really don’t.”
“Well, that’s nice.”
“Kel, I’m sorry. But this one I’m going to have to take care of on my own.”
“Fine. Just—watch yourself, okay?”
“Yeah.” Keira inhaled sharply, blew the air out in a rush and said, “I’ve gotta go. I’ve got some thinking to do.”
“Okay, but call me this weekend.”
When she hung up, Keira didn’t move. She just stood there, rooted in the kitchen, staring out at the storm and, for the first time in her life, she hated the snow. Hated the storm that was trapping her there with a man who didn’t want her. Hated that she couldn’t get away. Hated that she’d set herself up for more pain.
And mostly, she hated herself for being jealous of her little sister.
“Why is it that when Kelly falls in love, everything works out great?”
“Who you talking to?”
She spun around to see Nathan standing in the doorway, watching her. A flush of heat swept over her and she hoped to hell he hadn’t overheard any of her conversation with Kelly. “No one. How long have you been there?”
“About ten seconds. Did you get hold of your sister?”
“Yes,” Keira said, plastering a brilliant smile on her face. “She’s terrific. Better than terrific, really. She’s engaged.”
“That’s nice.”
“Yeah,” she said, shifting her gaze to the phone she still held in her hand, “it is.”
“And you sound really excited for her.”
“Oh, I am.”
“Well, now I’m convinced,” he said, walking over to the counter to pour himself another cup of coffee. “What’s wrong, don’t you like the guy?”
“Never met him, actually. Talked to him a couple of times, but they live in England, so…”
“Why don’t you go visit?”
Keira looked up at him as he leaned casually against the kitchen counter, taking a sip of his coffee. “I believe we already covered that. I have responsibilities here.”
One dark eyebrow rose. “So mayors don’t get vacations?”
“Why do you care if I visit my sister or not?” she snapped.
“Whoa. Don’t care. Just asked.”
Keira held up one hand, crossed the room and gave him back his phone. “Sorry, sorry. That wasn’t about you. That was about me.”
He looked at her for a long minute or two and Keira stared up into those pale blue eyes of his. How could she not have realized that she was falling in love with him? And when had it happened?
When he told her about his awful grandmother? When he actually listened to her advice? When they took a walk beside the lake? When he touched her and made her body sing?
Oh, God.
Why couldn’t she have fallen for the right guy this time?
“What’s wrong?” he asked and his voice was so quiet, she nearly missed the words.
“I don’t know,” she said, because she couldn’t tell him the truth. Turning her back on him, she walked to the windows and stared out at the storm that had become an enemy.
She heard his footsteps behind her, but didn’t turn to watch him approach. Instead, she watched his reflection in the dark glass and, when his hands came down on her shoulders, she managed to suppress a sigh of satisfaction at his touch.
“Tell me,” he said softly.
Keira shook her head and said, “I’m evil.”
He laughed shortly. “Yeah? Evil how?”
“My sister tells me she’s engaged and I’m envious. How evil is that?”
He dropped his hands from her shoulders and Keira thought he couldn’t have made it any clearer just how he felt. He didn’t move away, though. Just stood there behind her, his body sending waves of heat her way.
“You want to get married?”
Now she laughed a little. At the situation. At herself. At the raw panic in the reflection of his eyes.
“I always planned to,” she said. “Just like I planned to travel. But things don’t seem to work out the way you think they will.”
“Maybe that’s for the best.”
She turned around to look up at him. “For the best?”
He shrugged. “Who cares what your old plans were? Thought you liked your life the way it is.”
“I do,” she admitted, “It’s just…different from what I expected it to be. My mom used to say that life is what happens while you’re making plans. And I guess that’s true.”
As she talked, Keira knew she was trying to convince not only Nathan, but herself, that her life was just the way she wanted it. That she would be fine when he left. That it didn’t matter to her that he didn’t love her. That he would be leaving without a backward glance.
She would be all right because she still had her home. Her place in the world. If it wasn’t the place she’d always planned on, did that make it any less important?
No.
“I mean,” she said, pulling a chair out from under the kitchen table and plopping into it, “I love Hunter’s Landing. I love belonging and being a part of the town’s life. So, plan or no plan, I like my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still like to travel, but this will always be home. I’ll always come back here.”
He looked down at her and shook his head, taking another sip of his coffee. “I don’t understand tying yourself to a place.”
Keira’s heart felt another twinge, but she managed to avoid showing it. “The word home isn’t synonymous with prison.”
“Might as well be,” he said. “The best way to live is to just keep moving.”
Which is just what he’d be doing in a couple of weeks. He’d be moving on so fast that he probably wouldn’t even bother to say goodbye. It hurt her to know that she’d remember him long after he’d forgotten her and Hunter’s Landing. “Because if you keep moving, you make sure you never have time to care about anyone or anything, huh?”
His gaze narrowed on her. “You like sitting still. I like moving. Who’s to say which way is best?”
“Me.”
“Ah,” he said, setting his coffee cup down onto the kitchen table. Shoving both hands into his pockets, he said irritably, “Ms. Roots speaks. Hearth and home and everything that goes with it, right? Well, not all of us are looking to get stuck in a rut so deep you can’t see over the top of it.”