We walk in comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds our footsteps on the packed dirt trail and the distant call of birds.
“Can I ask you something?” I say finally.
“Anything.”
“Why did you do it? Push yourself that hard? You had to know it wasn't healthy.”
He's quiet for so long I think he won't answer.
When he does, we both pause. “Because I was good at it. Building the company, making deals, and turning a profit. I was exceptionally good at it. And when you're good at something, people expect you to keep doing it. To do it better. More. Faster.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It was. But it was also...” He pauses, searching for the word. “Validating. Every success proved I mattered. That I was worth something.”
Here is a man worth billions, and yet he feels worthless. My heart breaks at his words and that he could honestly believe that. “You know you matter without the company, right?”
He glances at me, and there's something vulnerable in his expression. “I'm starting to.”
My chest feels tight. I reach for his hand without thinking, threading my fingers through his, and then tense up at my impulsive action. My nervousness eases when he squeezes my fingers and holds my hand.
We continue walking, hand in hand, and then I can’t help sneaking a sideways peek at him and saying, “For what it's worth, you matter to me.” I rush on before I can lose my nerve. “Not your company. Not your money. You.”
He stops walking and turns to fully face me, his gaze moving over me slowly. “Jennifer.”
A pit forms in my stomach at the husky way he says my name. “Yeah?”
“I'm going to kiss you again.”
Warmth explodes in me, and it’s all I can do not to throw myself into his arms. “Okay.”
This kiss is different from the one in his bedroom. Deeper. More certain. His hands frame my face, and I grip his shirt, and for a moment the whole world narrows to just this moment intime. The taste of him, the warmth of the sun on my head and shoulders, and the gentle sounds of the lake lapping at the shore.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathing hard.
“We should probably head back,” he says, but he doesn't move.
My tongue glides over my lips, tasting him there and longing for more. “Probably.”
I continue staring at him like a lovesick fool until a faint gurgling growl splits the air. Seth’s cheeks pinken, and I grin. He insisted on not having breakfast.
“Sounds like you’re ready for lunch,” I tease.
“I guess so.” He stares at me, looking uncertain and boyish with his short black hair tousled by the slight breeze. “When you eat with me?”
“I'd like that.”
We walk back hand in hand, and I try not to think about the fact that I'm falling for a man who's going to leave in three weeks and go back to his real life while I remain here living my much less glamourous and unexciting one.
But when we reach the cabin and he pulls me close for one more kiss before we go inside, I push those unpleasant thoughts away.
Right now, at this moment, he's here. He's trying and choosing to live.
And I'm choosing to be part of that, however long it lasts.
CHAPTER SIX
SETH
