They talked about the book and the campground for a few more minutes while he and Kenzie drank their much needed coffee, and then his parents had to run so Mike could drop Lisa at work.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Kenzie dissolved into a fit of giggles and had to set her mug on the counter to keep from spilling what was left of her coffee.
“I amsosorry about that,” he said, shaking his head. “I never thought to tell them I’d be home for one night.”
“It could have been worse. I could have skipped the T-shirt,” she said, and he must have looked horrified at the thought because she started giggling again.
“I should go find our phones and plug them in,” he said, and then he paused, looking at her. “And then…should I get dressed?”
After a moment’s consideration that felt like a year to him, she nodded. “Yeah, you should probably get dressed. I’m starving, and you promised me breakfast at your second favorite restaurant.”
“Their hash browns are amazing.”
“Noted. And we can take our time driving north without getting in late. My dad will want to tell me all about his trip. And I need to do laundry and some other chores.” She sighed. “And get up bright and early tomorrow morning for work after not getting enough sleep last night.”
He tried to look contrite, but failed. “I should probably apologize for that, but I’m not sure I can.”
“Oh, don’t be sorry.” Kenzie closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist. “One hundred percent worth it.”
He kissed her thoroughly, his hand cupping the back of her neck, until they were breathless and she felt liquid in his arms. “We could spare a little time.”
She laughed and pushed away from him. “Go get dressed. I’ll plug in the phones and then gather my stuff. Do you have a plastic bag I can drop that wet sweater into?”
Rummaging through his pantry for a sealable plastic bag big enough for the sweater gave Danny a minute to get his feelings under control. Besides the renewed physical desire the kiss had sparked, there was the disappointment he not only felt, but had seen in her eyes.
Neither of them wanted this time together to end.
Leaning his forehead against a pantry shelf for a moment, he closed his eyes, trying to picture a different path forward. But all he could see was him giving up everything and turning his life upside down to be closer to a woman he’d get to see three afternoons a week. There was a part of him desperate to take the leap.
But he was self-aware enough to know it wouldn’t work in the long run. He wanted to do more than take walks and sleep in the same bed as Kenzie. He’d want “weekend” getaways—even if they fell during the week—and it would be nice if she could travel with him if he did a book tour. Maybe not the whole thing, but he would want to share that part of his life with her. He had a big, close family, and they celebrated a lot of things on weekends. He’d have to go alone because Kenzie would be working.
Eventually, he’d resent it. They’d start arguing about it. And they would grow increasingly unhappy together until the inevitable split broke their hearts.
It was better for both of them this way, he told himself sternly. They had their fun and now they’d go back to their real lives, where they were just friends.
Nothing more.
Chapter Eighteen
Kenzie wasn’t surprised Danny seemed a little subdued on the drive north. She wasn’t feeling super chatty herself.
They’d talked and laughed through an exceptional breakfast—he had excellent taste in restaurants—but it wasn’t as easy between them as usual. Clearly neither of them wanted this trip to end, probably because there was a strong sense of the actualendabout it. They were just friends again.
In the ten years since her mother passed away, she would occasionally feel resentment toward Corinne’s Kitchen. Every once in a while, it would flare into actual anger. But she’d never truly been torn between the restaurant and her own desires until now.
Spending time with Danny in his home had triggered a deeper understanding of his life. It wasn’t just a house, but the perfect refuge for him—a part of him, almost. He was genuinely content there, and most of his family lived close enough to drop by.
It was a lot to ask a man to give up when she couldn’t do the same for him. If it was just the restaurant, she would seriously consider it. But even if her dad could keep Corinne’s Kitchen going without her, it would be a daily struggle he probably wouldn’t win in the end. He was too young to retire, but too old to easily find a job in their part of the state.
If it was the possibility of a future with Danny versus the restaurant, he would probably win. But Danny versus her father? That was a battle everybody would lose.
“You’re being very quiet,” Danny said, jerking her out of her depressing thoughts.
“Just watching the scenery go by,” she said, lifting her coffee cup out of the console’s cup holder. They’d stopped along the way to grab more caffeine before hitting the stretch of road that didn’t offer much in the way of food and gas. “So I forgot to ask earlier—are you totally done with your book now?”
He laughed. “Mostly. We hit the big stuff on the first round of edits, but she’ll probably have me do another pass to smooth stuff out. Then a copy editor will go through it and we’ll do battle over Oxford commas and dangling participles. Then I’ll read it again once that’s all done to try to catch anything that was missed in all the previous passes.”
“Gee, that sounds super fun.” He snorted, amusing her. “When will you get to see the cover?”
