“Did Jack make it?”
“No, I did. I can cook, not as fancy as Jack. But I like it.”
She can see through the firelight that the tips of his ears are a little red, and she finds his blush endearing.
“You look very beautiful,” he tells her with a soft smile.
Now it’s her turn to blush.
“Thanks, you too.”
He’s wearing a red plaid shirt tucked into his jeans with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Hair slicked back and stubble trimmed. His eyes are glowing in the candlelight, and his smile is bright. He’s barefoot, which makes her heart squeeze a little at the domesticity of it all.
He’s like sex on legs, always looking ridiculously hot with the whole mountain man lumberjack thing he has going on. Definitely different than the straight-laced guys she’s gone for in the past. He’s unique, special, a sweetheart, a literal teddy bear, and she loves him.
“This is delicious.”
“Thanks, it’s not too hard to make. A little time-consuming, though.”
“Well, thank you for making it for me, it’s very good.”
“Anything for you.”
She almost thinks he means it the way he says it. Her college boyfriend used to say the same thing, ‘anything for you’. But what he really meant was anything within reason that he felt like doing. When she wanted to go out to dinner, but he didn’t feel like it, they wouldn’t go. When she wanted to see the newest film shown on campus, he would tell her it was dumb, and they wouldn’t go. So it was never ‘anything for you’, it was more of a ‘when I feel like it’.
But with Axel, she wonders. If she wasn’t leaving, what would it be like with him? Would he really give her anything? Would he let her pick the TV show they watch? Would he take her horseback riding when she wanted? Make her a romantic picnic? She knows from experience that dating at the beginning and dating for a while are two very different things.
After dinner, they move to the couch by the fire. She tells him more about not making partner and that she has no idea what she’s going to do about a job. He tells her about Maury and how him missing has made it harder to find evidence against Harvey Group. She can tell by his tone that he’s upset aboutMaury. She wonders now what Axel and his brothers will do. Will they be able to save the lodge? The town? He seems at a loss as to how to fix things, and she has no advice for him.
He’s open with her. She knows many men who wouldn’t be. They wouldn’t want to show any sign of failure or vulnerability in front of a woman, but he does. He tells her his fears, that he feels like a fuckup for not realizing Maury was stealing from him, that he doesn’t know how to fix it. And his vulnerability with her makes her love him even more. He’s not better than her because he’s a man. They are on the same page, just two people trying to make it through life.
Axel sweeps the hair from her face and kisses her softly. They had been quiet for a few moments, both swept up in their thoughts that neither had felt the need to say anything. That's another thing she likes about him. They don’t need to fill the silence. It’s comfortable in the quiet. She knows he’s not a man of many words, and when he does say something, it’s not to chatter but to speak to her from his heart.
She rests her head on his shoulder, leaning into him and tucking her legs up on the couch. He puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her into him. Snuggling, cuddling. It’s wonderful. He’s so big and strong that she feels small in his arms. She definitely knows that he’s a bear shifter now, his size before should have given it away that he was something other than human, because other men aren’t built like Axel and his brothers. All so wide and tall.
It’s amazing how safe she feels here with him. He protected her from the mountain lion, and she thinks he would protect her from the world if she let him. And that’s the crux of it, really, if she let him. She’sthe one who’s leaving Montana. She’s the one saying goodbye to him. He hasn’t asked her to stay, hasn’t said they should keep in touch. But she feels like it’s on her to bridge that gap if she wants to. That he wouldn’t ask that of her.
Chloe loves him. She knows she does. She’s never loved anyone like this. Like a combination of family love, lust, and wanting to be with someone forever. She never imagined that a life for her could exist outside of New York. That a man could ever exist among the ones who wear suits 24/7. Now she’s here, wrapped up in Axel’s arm, wondering if her life could be different.
Maybe she’d be happier in Montana. Maybe they could live together and have babies and run the lodge like Axel did with his family. She likes his brothers, and even Raif has seemed to warm up to her. She wonders if they could be a family, all of them together.
They can’t, though, it’s all a pipe dream. It’s not real, just in her head. Nothing ever works out for her the way it should. Her grandfather and her dad dying. Her mother never really being present, and Chloe always being a disappointment to her. Not making partner after she devoted herself to the company for a decade. No relationship. No friends other than Danielle. She’s...well, she’s lonely. And maybe a little bit down on herself.
Axel must sense her mood because he gently tips her chin up to look him in the eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Axel
“What’s wrong, baby?” He can see that there’s something wrong; she’s too stuck in her head. “Did I do something?”
“No, of course not. You’ve been...you’ve been perfect, Axel.”
She sits up more and turns to him. Brushing her fingers lightly on his stubbled cheek.
“Sorry, I should have shaved more.”
“No, it’s sexy. I love it.”
