If I hadn’t had conferences tonight, we’d be doing the same thing. As it was, he would pick me up, take me home, and before I got my coat off, he’d be on me. I shouldn’t complain. It was Gideon. Out-of-my-league Gideon James.
How could such spectacular sex leave me so empty?
“Good to hear.” Mark let out a nervous chuckle and walked several steps into the room. “I was afraid I was moving too fast, asking you to visit my family, but I guess I wasn’t quick enough.”
“It did feel a little sudden,” I admitted. “But Gideon and I... we just clicked.” I picked at the hem running up the side of my gray slacks. Was someone going to jump out of my supply nook and yell “liar”?
“Someday, maybe I’ll be so lucky.” His gaze dropped to the floor and he nodded. “I’m happy for you though. Maybe a little jealous of the way you’ve been floating through the halls.”
My laugh rang empty. Just like I’d be shortly. Soon, I would be explaining Gideon’s disappearance.He had to return to work. We’ll try distance. Then...Distance didn’t work. We tried. Turns out we have to consciously uncouple.
Fuck. The plan had been a lot different on the front end. When the little girl with big dreams inside of me had thought I’d get my conventional fairy tale after an unconventional beginning.
A tall, dark shadow appeared in the doorway. Gideon glowered at Mark.
“Speak of the devil,” Mark said easily. “I was telling your wife that one day I hope to be as lucky as her.”
Gideon’s gaze turned assessing. He must’ve heard the loneliness in Mark’s voice. If I hadn’t met Gideon and decided to go to Spokane with Mark, we might’ve gone all the way to the altar—the old-fashioned way. But ours wouldn’t have been a sweeping love story. We’d have been friends who had sex to scratch an itch and fulfill our life goals.
Wasn’t that an empty life too?
Gideon allowed a hint of a smile to show through. His peace offering. “Go to Vegas and give it a shot.”
Mark’s chuckle was good-natured. “That might be what I’m doing wrong. Glad you got here. I didn’t want to end the night digging anyone out.”
“The snow’s getting deep, but if you have all-wheel drive, you should be okay.”
Mark ducked his head. “The weather guy says the wind’s going to pick up. I think we’re all hoping for a snow day.”
“Since tomorrow’s Friday,” I said, “that’d be perfect timing.”
“A long weekend.” Mark nodded again. Was Gideon’s towering presence making him nervous? “But the snow is going to decide that.” He clapped his hands together. “You two take off. I’ll lock up.”
“Thank you.” I scooted around him. “Have a good weekend.”
Gideon gave him a parting nod and then we were walking out. Gideon put his hand on my lower back and guided me all the way to the front door. He’d parked right in the middle of the drop-off area. Normally, that was a no-no, but it was late, and with the heavy clumps of flakes falling in my hair, I didn’t care.
In the car, I buckled up, but he didn’t drive away. He was scowling out the windshield. Was he upset about Mark?
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He blinked like I’d bopped him out of a trance. “What’s this about a snow day?”
Had he been planning to tell me something else? Our time was so short I doubted it was anything critical. “Well, this white stuff outside—it’s called snow. And when there’s a lot of it, we sometimes have to cancel school. But it has to be a lot, Mr. Casino. Not a dusting.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up. “I have a special punishment for smart-asses.”
And I was firmly in my dreamworld for the night. Maybe for the whole weekend. “Promise?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Gideon
Friday had turned out to be a snow day. I had worked at the table while Autumn had listened to an audiobook and graded papers. The wind had tormented the outdoors until after sundown Saturday afternoon, so we’d stayed in. This morning, the gusts had died down and the sky was partly cloudy.
We were still in bed. Autumn was sprawled across her side. Half a butt cheek was hanging out of her pajama shorts and her legs were tangled in the sheets. She’d kicked the rest off.
I still envied how she could sleep with abandon. There’d been only a handful of times I could remember sinking into a deep sleep like her. Most of them had taken place in the last few weeks—when I’d worked with Dad and when I’d helped move cattle.
