Her quiet voice m ade his heart race. “What else?”
“You.”
Everything inside of him stilled. It was as if he’d stepped into a giant vacuum. The chatter of the crowd disappeared, the fireworks exploding overhead were silent, even the light breeze had vanished.
All that was left was Ashley and the pounding of his heart.
She buried her hands in her jacket pockets. “I never stopped loving you. I worked hard and tried to forget how much you meant to me. I wanted to be the best reporterThe Daily Timeshad ever hired, but nothing I did was better than what we had in Bozeman. I missed everything about you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?”
“If I’d spoken to you, I would have come home. Ipromised mom I wouldn’t second-guess myself, that I wouldn’t live my life with regrets. Until a few months ago, I thought she was talking about my career, but I was wrong. She wanted me to be happy. I’m happy when I’m with you.”
He wanted so badly to believe her, but she’d told him more than once that she loved him. That hadn’t stopped her leaving or stopped his heart from breaking each time she did.
“I don’t know what to say.” He had to look away, had to focus on something other than the hurt in her eyes. He couldn’t live his life thinking she would leave when the going got tough or when she got bored. Because deep down, he knew the life she thought she wanted would never be enough.
“I love you.” Tears spilled down her face. She brushed them away and tried to look brave.
She was offering him everything he’d ever wanted. But he didn’t know how they could ever have anything more than what they had now.
“I can’t do this anymore, Ashley. I want to be part of your life, but I’m not sure it’s worth the pain of when you leave. I’m sorry.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I’m not leaving. I want to stay here with you.”
“It wouldn’t work.” A ball of grief lodged in his chest. He looked away from the tears falling down her face. “I’m sorry if you made your decision to work here because of me. If I’d known, I would have— ”
“I understand.” Ashley took a deep breath and pulled back her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have expected you to feel the same way. I’ll call Tess. She’ll take me to her house when she leaves with Logan. Goodbye, Matthew.”
If he thought it was hard watching Ashley leave, it was more difficult seeing her return. Whatever they had was over, and this time he was the one running away.
