“I don’t know, but there are always plenty of people here.”
They waited beside the nearest elevator with half a dozen other people and their bags. When the elevator doors opened, Ashley wasn’t sure they would all fit into the small space.
Matthew pulled her against his chest. “Maybe it’s not so bad,” he whispered.
Ashley smiled as everyone moved to squash another bag into the elevator. “You’re lucky it’s me that’s pinned against you,” she whispered back.
Matthew looked around the elevator and grinned. “You’re right.”
Unfortunately, Ashley’s floor was the first stop. Everyone spilled into the corridor, letting them out before returning to the elevator.
She waved to the people as the doors closed. “I’m glad I’m going back to my apartment tomorrow. I’m beginning to feel like a tourist.”
“You don’t look like one.”
Ashley walked toward her room. “What do tourists look like?”
“Lost. Anyone seeing you on the street would know you belong here.”
She glanced at Matthew. “I belong in a lot of places.”
He stopped outside her door. “Maybe.”
If she could have imagined the last few minutes she’d spend with Matthew, it wouldn’t have been like this. The silence that stretched between them was hard to bear.
“Would you like me to come to the airport with you and Harry? I could help with your bags.”
When he didn’t answer straight away, she sighed. “It’s okay. I understand.”
“I care about you, Ashley, but I can’t see how any relationship, even friendship, can work between us. You’ve made your home here, and my home is in Bozeman. I don’t want this to be goodbye, but it has to be.”
Her eyes filled with tears. She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, but it wouldn’t make any difference to what would happen.
She kissed his cheek and tried to smile. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
His eyes swam with unshed tears. “I’m glad I could help.”
Matthew’s arms wrapped around her, holding her in a hug that brought more tears to her eyes.
“Good luck,” he whispered.
She stepped out of his embrace and swiped her key card in front of her door. “Have a safe flight.”
Matthew nodded and walked down the corridor.
More tears blurred her vision. Before she burst into tears, she opened her door and stepped away from the most amazing man she’d ever met.
***
The next afternoon, Bonnie lifted one of Ashley’s pot plants off the windowsill. “I don’t know if this one’s going to make it.”
Ashley stared at the wilted, brown leaves. “If we soak it in water, it might be okay.”
Bonnie took the plant across to the kitchen. “Did Matthew make it home safely?”
“I don’t know.”
“Didn’t he call you?”
