This had been special. Sometimes two people, even though they lived completely different lives, needed to come together. Sometimes, the stars aligned.
This morning, unlike last night, they made love slowly, purposefully, as though memorizing every detail, every sensation.
And the sun slanted into the room so that she could see his face clearly. She saw tenderness. She saw arousal. She saw ecstasy and then she saw peace.
And yes, in the end, she saw the tiniest bit of sorrow.
This was not a one night stand.
Likely, she knew she’d never see him again. Once his sister left, he’d have no reason to return to Alpine Creek ever again.
But it meant something to him. For whatever reason, he liked her. He’d needed her as much as she’d needed him.
She’d be happy with that.
He kissed her and then climbed out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
This was her chance. As quickly as humanly possible, she pulled her jeans on, slipped on her boots, pulled her t-shirt over her head, stuffed her bra and socks in the pockets of her coat– and slipped out the door.
She absolutely hated goodbyes.
Just as hefinished washing his hands, he heard the door close.
She’d be gone, he knew. His bed would be empty and so would his…
Life?
He immediately dismissed the thought as ridiculous, maudlin. He barely knew her. They were worlds apart. He would not chase her down the hall like some lovesick fool.
He’d probably latched on to Noel because of the discord within his family. He hadn’t been in a serious relationship for months, and the sexual encounters he’d had in between had felt cold and meaningless.
Noel was just… something in-between.
He rubbed his hand down his face. If she had stayed, they could have showered together. He would have covered her in soap and…
He needed to get out of this town.
He turned the water on, not waiting for it to warm up and stepped beneath the shocking spray of water.
Fuck this.
Fuck her.
He showered, dressed and threw his belongings indiscriminately into his suitcase. Glancing around the room, he surmised he’d collected everything. Which made him wonder, a few minutes later, as he closed the door behind him, why he felt like he was leaving something important behind.
CHAPTER SEVEN
When Noel arrivedto work that night the first thing she did was scan the parking lot for his car.
It was gone.
In fact, the lot was practically empty. This was the time of year service workers breathed sighs of relief for the break, and yet, worried over the conditions of their bank accounts. More tourists wouldn’t start arriving again for at least a month.
So, the bar would be slow.
And Noel didn’t care.
Despite chastising herself over and over again, all she could think about was the giant hole she had in her heart now. This one hurt bad.
