“You have the eye of an architect, all right,” she said. “Will you check in with Aidan again before you fly to Dubai?”
He nodded. “As soon as I’m back in the UK.”
“I’d love to see it when it’s finished. You know, a picture or whatever.” She glanced over at him.
“I’ll send you one.”
They kept walking, meandering their way along the trail. Her impulse was to rush ahead, but her lungs weren’t fully healed yet, so she had to take her time. She stopped here and there to sip water and kiss Flynn, enjoying their last morning together. Or not, if she had any say in it. Because she didn’t want this to be their last morning together.
Finally, even moving at a post-pneumonia snail’s pace, they came out at the overlook. It was a spot on the trail where the forest opened, revealing the castle and grounds below. After she, Megan, and Elle had discovered it, they’d had a bench carved out of a nearby fallen tree so guests could sit here with a bottle of wine and enjoy the view.
If only she’d thought to bring a bottle of wine with her and Flynn…although it was a bit early in the day for that. Mimosas, though. Oh well, hindsight and everything.
She tugged his hand, and they sat together on the bench. “Pretty, isn’t it?”
“This is what they call a million-dollar view,” he said.
“It is,” she agreed.
“Now, I’ll be able to picture you here, and in your guest house, and up at the main castle. I’m glad for the chance to know where you call home.” There was something wistful in his tone, and it only strengthened her resolve to do what she was about to do.
“Home can be anywhere you make it, though,” she said, turning on the bench to face him. “I spent a lot of my life confined to my house, and now that I’ve finally gotten the chance to spread my wings, I’ve realized how much more there is in the world.”
“I agree with that.” He studied her, no doubt wondering at the urgency in her voice. “I spend most of my life traveling, although I suppose London will always feel like home.”
“I don’t want to say goodbye, Flynn.”
He sat up straighter on the bench. “Ruby—”
“No, let me say what I need to say.” She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “One thing I’ve learned is that life can be short and fragile, and when you find something great, you should grab ahold of it, even if it’s not what you were expecting. And I definitely wasn’t expecting you, but here we are.”
“I wasn’t expecting you either.” Something in his expression softened.
She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye. “So, if you feel the same way, I’d really like to give this thing between us a chance. I don’t care what it looks like or if it involves a lot of long-distance dating or if we don’t see each other much while you’re in Dubai. I just think we should give it a try and see if it could work. Because…I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Flynn lurched off the bench,pacing to the edge of the overlook. Behind him, Ruby was quiet, but he felt her stare like a prickle at the back of his neck. “I…I’m sorry. I’m not quite sure how to respond.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know how I feel before you leave,” she said. “And if you have any feelings for me at all, if you feel sad about the idea of saying goodbye, then maybe we could just agree to keep our options open? Let’s stay in touch and see what happens.”
“I do have feelings for you, Ruby.” He turned to face her. “I hope you know that. I’ve enjoyed these last few weeks with you more than I can remember enjoying anything in recent years. Under other circumstances, I would love nothing more than to continue our relationship. But the reality is that your life is here at Rosemont Castle, and mine is in Dubai, and then wherever the company sends me next.”
“So, we try things long-distance for a while and see what happens,” she said, undeterred.
“I wish I could say yes.” He wanted to more than anything, but he knew in the long run, he’d only be prolonging the inevitable. His lifestyle wasn’t suited for a stable relationship. He was always on the go, always jetting off to the next location. It was the only thing that even came close to keeping him satisfied. What could he really offer Ruby other than frustration and heartbreak? He couldn’t bear to watch it happen, couldn’t bear to hurt her. He wouldn’t be the man who took her away from her family and friends here in America, from the life she’d built for herself at Rosemont Castle.
He walked back over to sit beside her. “You deserve a man who can give you everything, who can build a life with you here in Virginia.”
“Don’t tell me what I deserve,” she said, no longer quite meeting his eyes. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
He stared over the golden-hued treetops at the castle in the distance. “You’re right,” he agreed. “But I know that, right now, I’m not in a position to offer enough of myself to meet my own standards for what a relationship should be. And it would kill me to disappoint you.”
“So, you think it’s better not to even try?” Ruby stood abruptly from the bench and marched down the path toward the castle, head held high, arms wrapped around herself.
“I’m sorry,” he called after her as a sense of heaviness came over him, weighing down his steps as he started down the trail behind her. All the beauty and charm seemed to have been sucked out of the morning. Now, the air felt cold, trees swaying harshly overhead as dead brown leaves swirled through the air around him.
Ruby didn’t say another word as she tromped down the path, not even when he fell into step beside her. They walked in silence, not the easy, comfortable silence they’d shared from time to time on the way up, but a harsh, ringing silence that reinforced how much he’d lost with every crunch of his shoe against the leafy trail bed.
They left the forest a lot more quickly than they’d entered it, coming back onto the castle grounds behind the horse pastures. Ruby led the way back to the guest house, but when they walked inside, she tossed her jacket over a chair in the kitchen and headed down the hall toward the bedroom.
