of her lips drawn down. He blew her a kiss through the open window and said, “See you soon, beautiful. I love you.”
He pulled away slowly, watching her in the rearview mirror as the truck crawled down the street. Her arms hung limply by her sides, as if her heart were shredding into a million razor-sharp pieces, too. Her shoulders slumped, knotting up his insides even more. She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders heaving, and he felt like he was destroying them all over again.
Fuck. This.
He slammed on the brakes, threw the truck into park, and flew out the door, leaving it wide open in the middle of the road as he sprinted toward her with Bandit on his heels. She dropped her hands, revealing red-rimmed eyes as he wrapped her in his arms, lifting her feet off the ground, and kissed her. Her salty tears slipped between their lips, making him teary-eyed, too.
“I just got you back,” he said between urgent kisses. “How can I leave you?”
She choked out, “You have to.”
“Baby…” Kiss. Kiss. “Not like this…” Kiss. Kiss.
“I want you to stay.” She drew back, tears streaming down her cheeks, and said, “But you have to go, Zevy. You have a crew waiting for you. I’ll be fine.” She swiped at her tears as he set her feet on the ground, but they kept coming. “I’m sorry for crying. It’s not fair.”
“Don’t be sorry. Don’t ever be sorry for loving me enough to be sad. This is killing me, too.” He embraced her again, wishing he could take her with him, wishing he could stay, wishing he’d never left all those years ago. Carly’s words came back to him. If Tory’s death taught me one thing, it was the importance of spending time with the people I love.
He drew back and said, “Come with me. Take a chance, another leap of faith. Let’s do this together like we were meant to.” He’d get down on his knees and beg if it kept them together. But his plea only brought more tears.
“I can’t,” she said. “You know I can’t just pick up and leave.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair of me to ask. Goddamn it, Carly. I can’t leave you. I’ll put everything off for a while,” he said anxiously, having no idea if that was even possible since he had to finish the legal paperwork tomorrow.
She made a sorrowful, defeated sound and said, “You can’t do that, and that wouldn’t make it any easier to say—”
He silenced her with a hard press of his lips. “Don’t say it, babe. We don’t say that word.” He touched his forehead to hers, the crushing sensation in his chest making it hard to breathe. “I promised not to hurt you, and look at us.”
“But we’re not hurting; we’re just sad. There’s a big difference.” She looked down at Bandit, sitting beside them with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Her gaze moved to the truck. A smile lifted her lips, despite her tears, as she brought her eyes back to his and said, “You left Beau’s truck in the middle of the road and ran up here like my own personal superhero.”
“I bet I’d look cute in a cape and tights.” Their levity didn’t make leaving any easier.
“You look even better naked,” she said just above a whisper. She inhaled deeply, straightened her spine, and put a hand on his chest. “I love you, Zevy. Now get the heck out of here before I lose it again.”
He hauled her into another long, passionate kiss, leaving her a little hazy-eyed, which he adored. He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it, and took a step toward the truck, still holding on as he said, “You sure? Last chance to tie me to your bed.”
Her musical laughter lightened the pain in his chest as their fingers slipped apart, and that beautiful sound followed him all the way back to the inn.
Chapter Twenty-Five
BEAU AND CHAR were coming out the front door of the inn as Zev pulled down the driveway. The second he opened his door, Bandit leapt over his lap and sprinted across the grass, nearly tackling Beau. Beau dropped to his knees to love up his dog as Zev climbed out of the truck.
“Beau thought you ran off with his buddy,” Charlotte said, looking refreshed and cute in gray shorts, one of Beau’s short-sleeved button-downs tied above her belly button, and