Teller.
He was sitting on the edge of the seat next to me, his elbows propped on his thighs, looking at me like I hadn’t just told him that the life he wanted sounded awful. Like I hadn’t left him and Bourbon Canyon with nothing but the clothes on my back, my ID, my phone, and a debit card.
“Phoenix, huh?” he asked.
I glanced around. No one was giving us the time of day. That wasn’t true. Some women were stripping Teller down with their eyes, no doubt making bets with each other about how many abs he had underneath that tight tee.
At the toe of his boots were two suitcases. One was mine from his house. The other was a simple black carry-on.
My confusion grew. “What are you doing here?”
He ran his thumb and forefinger over his lower lip. “Leaving with you.”
Hope leaped into my chest, beating back the fear that had invaded every cell until it’d been hard to breathe. I’d sat in this damn airport for hours, beautiful view and all, and ignored the planes coming and going. Indecision had rebounded through my head like a Ping-Pong ball that had no place to go, no hole to roll into because I’d closed off the only route I wanted. A path back to Bourbon Canyon. A way back to Teller.
Yet he was here. Right next to me. With his eyes shining just for me.
My gaze vacillated between him and the suitcases. Was that really mine? He’d packed for me and himself? Which was more shocking? “How can you leave with me? You’re needed back home.”
“Turns out I’m not as important as I thought.” He flashed a quick smile and the resulting shock of heat flushed away the cold from the last few hours. “I have a big family, and all of them are involved in both businesses in some way. They can cover for me.” His expression turned serious. “I should’ve left with you. I’ll regret it forever that I didn’t.”
“I wouldn’t have left.” Everyone might’ve blamed me for Teller giving up everything he knew, but I would’ve blamed myself more. He’d chased me down on his own. Sure, he hadn’t had to go far, but it turned out, I couldn’t go far either. “For how long?”
His gaze dipped to my lips, then lifted back up. “Forever, if needed.”
He was delusional. He couldn’t mean it. “You can’t leave Bourbon Canyon forever.”
“If I’m with you, I can.”
I put a hand on his strong forearm and the muscles twitched. “Your family loves you. They’ll miss you.”
“We can go back and visit. Or they’ll fly out where we are.” He pivoted toward me. “I love you, Madison. I said I wanted what my parents had, and guess what? I found it. It’s not the house, the jobs, or a cozy little town in the foothills of the mountains. It’s you and me. Together.”
This wasn’t true. None of it. I was dreaming. Made sense because all my dreams now included him. “How did you know I’d still be here?” I whispered.
“I didn’t.” He traced a thumb over my lips. “This was the last flight out for the day, so I’d take another one from Phoenix. I figured you’d either gone to Salt Lake City or Vegas.”
“I bought a ticket for each of them,” I whispered. “I couldn’t get on. I couldn’t quit thinking about you.”
His lazy grin made the anxiety of sitting through boarding calls and last warnings worth it. “Yeah?”
“I’m worried I’m on some watch list. I keep buying tickets and not boarding.” I hadn’t had anyone to talk to. I didn’t know Mae well, yet her face had flashed through my mind a million times. She’d know what to do. Same with Ruby. But Teller was theirs. I wasn’t. I’d had no one to call. I could go anywhere, but the few connections I’d made, the ones I treasured more than I thought, were in Bourbon Canyon.
Turned out I didn’t have nothing. Everything was in Bourbon Canyon.
The speakers crackled to life.“Attention all passengers. It’s my pleasure to announce the boarding of flight...”
My heart slammed against my ribs. I had to leave. I couldn’t return to the emptiness. But I hadn’t been able to leave Teller. Yet he had my luggage, and he’d said he was coming with me. Confusion swirled in my head.
He studied me, concern in his face. “I hear Phoenix is hot this time of year, but we can fly somewhere cooler from there.”
“What if I don’t want to leave?” What if I stayed? What if I betrayed everything I had wanted as a kid? What if Bourbon Canyon made me miserable?
What if the last two months in Bourbon Canyon were the happiest I’d ever be? I couldn’t imagine it getting better. Cooking in Teller’s kitchen. Going to bed and waking up to him. Being a part of his big and loving family dinners.
“Then we’ll come back.” He grabbed my hand. “We’ll travel and we’ll go home. You’ll do your pastry training, and I’ll live in whatever town you’re in or commute. You want to go to France and have a real croissant, I’ll get a passport.”
“I don’t have a passport.”
