Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,48

to be clandestine, as if she was embarrassed.

But now, it was morning. They had jobs to go to, which meant, if he remembered her schedule correctly, they’d both be at the distillery. And they needed to clear up the mess they’d created yesterday, or that whole keep-it-secret vibe she’d been hoping for would be ruined.

Her door was still closed when he walked to the shower, and he sure as fuck didn’t hang around in there, with memories of kneeling in front of her while she rode his face like it was her last few moments on earth.

Once dry and dressed, he moved to the kitchen and made a start on coffee. If there was one thing he’d learned about Cassie in the last ten days, she couldn’t function without an espresso boost. For their conversation to make any sense, he needed to be ready to caffeinate her first. As he started the pot, he heard the bathroom door close.

By the time he’d toasted and buttered the bagels and put out the cream cheese, peanut butter, and jelly as topping options, she walked into the kitchen.

“Hey,” she said, weakly.

“Hey.” He placed the toasted bagels and her coffee with a splash of almond milk in front of her.

“Thanks,” she said, cupping the mug and taking a sip.

Without saying a word, he moved next to her at the breakfast bar and began to load peanut butter onto his bagel. She took the jar from him when he was done, and he proceeded to add more grape jelly than he probably needed. But if she needed caffeine, he needed a sugar jolt.

They ate quietly for a few moments, lost in their own thoughts. When it became apparent Cassie was merely playing with her bagel, he turned to face her.

“What happened, from your point of view, yesterday?” he asked.

Cassie’s shoulders sagged. She’d been sitting so straight-backed at the counter while sipping her coffee, and it was as if someone had taken the steel out of her spine. “I’ve been asking myself the same question over and over. If I had good answers for you, I’d give them. But I think it comes down to what this is, what it means to each of us, and how much fallout we want to handle.”

She’d basically summarized his own thoughts. “Do you feel something for me, Cass?”

Cassie turned, her eyes focused on his. “I think that’s a stupid question, at this point. I don’t sleep around, and I’ve recently learned I’m not much of a friends-with-benefits kind of girl. But I’m stuck between feeling something for you, and knowing that when I leave, it’s going to be harder than I thought it was.”

Relief flooded through him—she had feelings for him. It was more than he hoped for, given his own growing feelings for her.

“Why is it all or nothing? Wouldn’t long-distance work?”

“Remember I told you I was in a relationship with someone before Christmas? I met Drew at a construction conference. He lived in Cleveland. It was great, at first, but then we realized we had jobs that aren’t predictable. And often involve weekend work. No matter how badly we wanted to see each other, we couldn’t make it work if we weren’t even available on the same day. And look at you. You’re barely away from the distillery. Ever. How do you think you’ll make it work?”

Envy flashed bright for a moment at the thought there had been someone else.

He reached for her hand. “You split because of time?”

Cassie huffed. “I realized I wanted someone there at the end of the day. Someone I could come home to, and eat dinner with, and go to bed with every night. I didn’t enjoy feeling as though I needed to fit everything I had to say each night into a one-hour video chat or a series of text messages or a thirty-six hour visit. I missed the intimacy of being close to someone. It just didn’t work for me.”

His initial reaction told him to fight, to try and persuade her. But what he really needed to do was listen. “So, it’s not about the cost or effort of long-distance?”

She shook her head. “If anybody would be worth trying it for, it would be you, Jake. But I know it’s not what I want or need. Plus, I’m thirty-one, my career is really important to me. I have goals beyond relationships and a path to the altar. There are career things I want to do, and I need to focus