Page 78 of Make It Last

“Hey, you can slow down,” I said.

Her cheeks flushed pink. “Sorry, I’m nervous. I was babbling.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “You’re making a big change.”

She nodded. “Have you ever moved?”

“I have,” I said. “Remember I went to college in Seattle?”

“Oh, that’s right.” She wrinkled her nose and twisted her hands.

I chuckled. “I know moving is disruptive and stressful, even when it’s what you want.” She exhaled slowly. “So,” I asked, “do you know when you’re going to do all this?”

“In a couple of weeks,” she said.

I steeled myself, knowing I needed to tell her I’d be traveling soon for work. “Speaking of a couple of weeks,” I said, “I have to leave for a fire.”

“When?” Her eyes widened, her voice jumping up an octave.

“Tomorrow.” I winced. “We’re flying out to a fire in the interior.”

“Oh.” She paused. “Wow.”

“It’s my job.”

“It is,” she agreed. “It’s just the timing isn’t great.”

“I know.” I met her gaze.

She worried her lower lip, and I ignored the jolt of need that sparked through me. “You’ll be safe, right?” she pressed.

“Always.”

She huffed out a breath. “Well, I guess I’ll have to rally the girls from card night to bring me pizza as much as you do.”

I chuckled. “I’m sure they will. Your fridge is pretty stocked, though. You’re getting out and about tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. I have a doctor’s appointment, and Tori’s taking me.”

“Tori’s a good friend.”

She smiled. “Yeah.”

Our conversation petered out after that, and a hum of tension lingered between us. Later, when I carried her to bed, we forgot it altogether. That was easy to do with Ava.

When the chemistry burned as hot and fast as it did, we could lose ourselves in it.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Ava

Two weeks is nothing

I told myself it was no big deal. Tanner was leaving for work. That was his job. We had a situationship, and even though we had admitted we liked each other and that we would miss each other, it was still a situationship. That was what I told myself as I took one last glance in the mirror and hobbled out to the kitchen on my one crutch.

Of course, Tanner had left me completely sated the night before, and I had fallen asleep totally relaxed. I didn’t even know what to think about how safe I felt sleeping with him. It was unexpected and special.

At the moment, he was finishing a phone call. “I’ll see you later, Mom. I’ll stop by before I go to the station.”