“You could say that.”
“Well, she’s leaving in just over a month, right? Maybe it’s best if you guys cut the cord now, instead of?—”
“There will be no cutting the cord,” Leo snapped. “We’re not going to just throw away what we have because she has to head back to New York.”
Tripp arched an eyebrow and folded his arms. “I never pegged you as the kind of guy who could do a long-distance relationship.”
Leo winced. No, he wasn’t that kind of guy. Long distance wasn’t worth the heartache in most cases and ended badly in the rest. He shot a look in Kat’s direction. But for her, Leo would do just about anything. Especially if it meant he’d end up winning her over in the end. “I don’t know what to do, Tripp.”
His cousin studied him for a long moment. “If I were you, I’d just end it while you’re on—” He snapped his mouth shut and actually had the decency to look ashamed of even mentioning the option. “How much do you really care about her?” he asked quietly.
“I…” The word love was on the tip of his tongue. He hadn’t said it out loud, not to himself, not to anyone else. And yet that one word was the perfect way to describe how he felt about the woman who had infiltrated his heart. Maybe it was crazy, but it was true. “I’m in love with her,” he muttered.
Tripp let out a low whistle. “Okay, so let me ask you this. If you love her, do you love her enough to pick up the life you have here and follow her anywhere?”
Leo’s head snapped up so fast that a sharp pain shot through his neck at the movement. “What?”
“Do you love her enough?—”
“I heard what you said. You can’t be serious. This… this is home.”
“And her home is in New York.” Tripp said it so easily—like those words weren’t the double-edged sword that they truly were. “I’ve never been in love,” Tripp admitted. “But I know enough about it to understand that true love comes with sacrifice. You can’t claim to love that woman if you’re unwilling to move heaven and earth for her.”
Leo scowled at Tripp then. He wanted to hate him for what he’d said. But the problem was he made a good point. If Leo wasn’t prepared to move to New York, then was he really in love with Kat?
The ache in his chest as he thought of the possibility of losing her made him want to believe he loved her. But the truth remained. He couldn’t see himself moving anywhere. When he envisioned his future, he saw himself raising his family here—with all his cousins and their children. He wanted to share a life with Kat that was full of laughter and unconditional love. He wanted to give her everything.
Swallowing down the painful lump in his throat, he nodded. “You’re right. But I think there’s another way.”
His cousin stared at him expectantly.
“Maybe she just needs me to help her see that this is the best place for us—that I can help her and make both of our dreams come true.”
“Leo—” Tripp started, but he was cut off by Kat’s voice.
“You ready?”
Leo turned to find a smiling Kat, her bright expression saying everything. The meeting had gone well. She was in good spirits. She loved being here. So why wasn’t she willing to talk about her plans? He’d asked her a couple times about how she’d broach the subject or if she’d brought it up with her father to which she’d shut him down.
There was too much going on with the project here and those back home was one argument. Then she’d insisted her idea wasn’t something she could discuss over the phone. Her father deserved to look her in the face when she gave him her idea. She would be leaving everything she knew in the city and that meant she needed a comprehensive plan.
And yet she wouldn’t give him details on whether or not she’d even started such a thing.
“You okay?” Kat murmured, stepping closer, her hand reaching for his forearm as if she could offer him some comfort simply by her touch. Was it bad that it worked?
“I’m fine,” he insisted with a small smile. “How did your meeting go?”
“Same as usual. He’s really good at what he does.” Kat smiled. “I wish we had someone like him at every job site.”
Leo felt his own smile returning. “Things are just better in Montana.” He could tell himself that he’d made the comment to be lighthearted, but even he knew why he’d said it. And his tone of voice hadn’t helped either. That statement had been one of the most passive aggressive things he could have said.
And Kat had noticed.
She frowned. “Leo,” she murmured.
“It’s fine, Kat.”
“Clearly it isn’t.”
