Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,49
my time and energy to regain momentum when I get back.”
Cassie placed her palms on his knees. “If you’d rather we stop this now, we can. I can ask Emerson for the keys to her place. She’s already said I could use it since she’s spending most of her time at Connor’s apartment.”
That had been one of the options he’d considered the previous evening as he sat in his bed, drinking his beer. Perhaps it would be better. But as soon as he’d had the thought, he’d felt angry. Angry at the two of them for giving up so damn easily.
Instead, he’d made himself a promise. He was going to fight for her. He was going to show her what she meant to him. And that had meant understanding exactly where she was coming from.
“I don’t want you to move out. I enjoy having you here. You can stay in the spare room if it makes you comfortable.” He didn’t really want her to stay in the spare room. He wanted her in his bed. Every night. The last thing he wanted to do was take a step backward. Without a timeline, without them living in two separate places, without them having jobs that currently required their pound of flesh, they’d be headed in the same direction.
And it would take time to show Cassie just how great it could be if she at least opened her mind to continuing what was happening.
“Your bed is way more comfortable than the spare bed,” she muttered before taking a bite of her bagel.
“Are you admitting you like where we are?”
Cassie smiled, sadly. “If you lived in Brooklyn, this would be the easiest yes.”
There were certain principles he wasn’t willing to compromise on and he needed to clear them up before they moved forward. “I can’t lie to my sisters.”
Cassie nodded. “Yeah. I came to the same conclusion last night. It was unfair of me to ask you to. But I worry they’re going to think we’re foolish.”
“More foolish than when you used that cheap fake tan and came to school the same color as a dehydrated clementine?”
“Jake.” Cassie slapped his knees, then put her forehead in her hand. “Lord, of all the things you remember.”
“Sorry, you looked ridiculous. I remember Em said you scrubbed your skin with sugar and lemon juice to try getting rid of it and ended up a streaky mess.”
They both laughed.
“I don’t know how to explain this to them.”
Jake straightened his shoulders. “It’s pretty easy. It’s none of their business. It doesn’t affect them. It’s fun. We’re grown-ups who know exactly what we’re getting ourselves into.”
“Do we?” she whispered.
Jake cupped her cheek. “No, we don’t.” But he was going on a wing and a prayer that she would realize somewhere along the line, before she went back, that they were worth the risk of trying something long-distance. If need be, he’d do all the travel. With the new efficient distillery and fourth still, he wouldn’t have to work every weekend. He could fly out of Denver early enough on a Friday to be in Brooklyn by dinner, by having Sienna come in to cut the tail for him. Perhaps production could start and end later on Mondays so he could stay a little longer.
Not being wealthy like Connor and Anders, it wouldn’t be possible all the time, but perhaps it would be enough.
“I don’t have a magic answer, but honestly, I’m willing to see where this goes. Because, Cass, I really like who you are. I love how you put your family first even though it hurt. I love how you can still smile and laugh even though everything has been shitty. I love how passionate you are about your career. I love how we’re here, talking this through because it’s important. And being honest because we’re both more scared than we are letting on.”
She placed her palm over his. “You’re scared?”
“Terrified.”
“Of what?”
“How we might screw this up. How our families might not understand. How this might be everything, and yet we still won’t be able to find a way to make it work. But I think the heartbreak is worth the risk. Nobody plunges into a relationship knowing they’re going to be able to face every hurdle thrown at them. It’s the reason there’s a billion stupid quotes written about why you can’t sail the seas without leaving the shore or some shit.”
Cassie smiled at him and shook her head. “You have quite the way with words.”