“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked softly.
He pressed his hands on the counter and cocked a foot back. I braced for him to tell me that whatever hewas feeling was none of my business. “Your mom had me take a plate of food to Hank last night.”
No wonder he’d been in his head when he’d come home. “I don’t think she meant to meddle.”
He cocked a brow.
“She’s usually there for us, but she’s not intrusive. She probably heard about how you worked with him for a few days and then helped tow his truck.”
“But she knows he’s still selling.”
I phrased my next words carefully. This topic was a sticking point and I knew where his opinions rested. Still, it needed to be said. “Being on speaking terms with your dad doesn’t necessarily hinge on whether he sells or not.”
His gaze went hard. “It does.”
I nodded. I hadn’t expected a different response. “How’d it go?”
“He said something I can’t figure out, and he expects me to know what he meant.” His flinty gaze was aimed out the wall of windows. “He said he’s selling because we all need to live our own lives.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Exactly.”
His dad had been telling him over and over again that he would continue with the sale. “He’s pretty determined.”
“Yeah.”
I swallowed hard. My drink was forgotten. “Are you going to stay until they close?”
His eyes sharpened. “Why wouldn’t I?”
A little glow that had nothing to do with the Bloody Mary ignited inside me.
“I still have time to get through to him.”
The spark died. Right. The land came first. That was his priority. Convenient distraction, that was me.
“Autumn.”
I was glowering at my drink. I lifted my gaze to his.
“I’m enjoying my time with you. But when this is over, don’t take it personally. I’m not good for marriage.”
He’d been pretty fucking good for the last couple of weeks. I had two more weeks with him and I didn’t want to cry or beg. “I’m just going to miss you. That’s all.”
An exhale gusted out of him. “Fuck, Autumn. I’m going to miss you too. The thought of going back to my life... it won’t be as easy as I thought it’d be. You’re a special person. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”
A murderous expression flitted through his eyes. I blinked and it was gone.
The guy would have to want me first. And then I’d have to be into him. That seemed like an impossibility with Gideon in front of me. Long after he was gone from my house and his scent had been washed from the sheets, would I be able to meet another man and not compare him to Gideon?
Instead of moving my life forward when I’d married him, I’d stalled out. By saying my vows, I’d screwed myself out of the future I wanted.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Gideon
Something about today had felt heavy from the beginning. Now Autumn had hit me where the center of my emotions churned. This damn marriage. How wonderful these two weeks had been. How fast the next two weeks would go.
