Stars Over Alaska (Wild River #4) - Jennifer Snow Page 0,78

choices...and an invite to dinner Saturday evening. If only he could go to dinner with her and not be thinking about Leslie. If only he’d ever had the pleasure of a woman’s company without feeling like something was missing. Unfortunately, he suspected no other dinner date would measure up to the igloo picnic, which was depressing as hell.

Seeing a new message arrive, his stomach twisted.

Mrs. Powell’s subject line made his heart race.

Charity Event Speech.

He’d been putting it off. The biggest responsibility he had regarding the event. The last few days he hadn’t been in the right mindset...

He heard the front door open and voices in the entryway and he shut his laptop, thankful for the excuse to avoid the emails a little longer.

Footsteps echoed down the hall toward the office before Leslie appeared in the doorway. “Hi,” he said. “How was the hike?”

“Good. It was good to get some fresh air and exercise,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s always helpful to clear the mind,” he said.

She nodded. “Yeah, so... Chad said the cleanup went okay.” She entered the office and closed the door behind her.

Did she want privacy? Or was she there to say something she didn’t want the others to hear? “Yeah. We’ll finish the report and send it to your mom in the next few days. She’ll need it if she decides to file an insurance claim—if she had any on the cabin...or maybe tax purposes or something. And the tow truck will be there later today to tow your car into a shop in Wild River, where I thought you’d eventually be able to pick it up,” he said. He was talking too much, but he wasn’t sure he could handle silence or the conversation taking a different direction.

He couldn’t quite read Leslie. She didn’t seem upset or annoyed, but she wasn’t giving any kind of vibe at all really.

“Sounds good,” she said. She stared at her hands, folded in front of her, and he stared at the top of her head. He wanted to go to her and wrap his arms around her, breathe in the fresh mountain air on her skin, kiss her cold cheeks, but he remained in his chair.

So far this had all been at her pace and it still was. Whatever she wanted. Or didn’t want.

But damn, could this awkwardness get any worse? He needed to say something. “Listen, I...”

“Levi...”

They both spoke at the same time.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“Well, I just wanted to say that I’m not sure how long we can keep this up.”

His heart plummeted but he prayed his poker face was still in place. “Us?” he asked.

“That too, yes. But more specifically, I mean us hiding out here. I can’t keep running with Selena, hiding her. We need to go to the police or head back to LA.”

He couldn’t argue that it made sense. They couldn’t stay there forever. Selena would clear up the misunderstanding about Leslie being involved with the stalker. Leslie might lose her job still, but at least she wouldn’t face jail time. They needed to go back and figure things out. Running may have been an ill-thought-out plan, but then again, maybe not. “Is it safe for her there?” he asked.

She sighed. “I’m not sure. But Eoghan, my co-worker, said that the police have a suspect in custody.”

Levi knew his expression was definitely on the jealousy spectrum as he cleared his throat. “You spoke to him today?”

“Yeah.”

She’d told him they weren’t serious, but was she still planning on continuing her casual relationship with Eoghan when she returned to LA? Did it matter? Would things be continuing between him and Leslie when she went back? Probably not.

“I’m not going to be...um, dating him anymore,” she said awkwardly.

There was no hiding his relief. “Because of us?”

“Not not because of us.”

So there was an us? This whole thing was super confusing. But he was afraid to ask what she meant. He suspected she had no idea what she really wanted...except for the physical. And he’d promised not to push for anything more than she was willing to give. Despite the torture and torment it might cause him.

She moved farther into the office and her eyes were worried as she said, “About last night...”

He held his breath.

“I just want you to know that it was incredible. The whole thing—the picnic, the champagne...” Her cheeks flushed and he stood quickly, not wanting her to feel out there, exposed in her feelings alone.

He moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist.