Page 47 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Dinner was at Benson’s Steak House; Reid had even made a reservation. Once we were seated, the waiter came over to take our drink orders, a beer for Reid and a glass of wine for me. As soon as he walked away, I reached for Reid’s hand again.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

He sighed. His deep brown eyes looked tortured as he searched my face and blew out a slow breath. “Yeah. I’m fine. ”

He wasn’t fine. This must have been what it felt like all those times I told him the exact same line. But I didn’t need to force him to talk to know what was on his mind.

Two days left in my contract.

Andrew hadn’t given me my next project to manage yet, so as of right now, there was no set end date. But after Monday, there was no guarantee.

The dinner was delicious, but the tension that surrounded us was palpable. We ate quietly. Reid opened his mouth to talk before closing it again. He had done that earlier as well. There was clearly something on his mind that he wanted to say.

“How did the final walkthrough go earlier?” Reid had met with the Calla Bay chair of selectmen, Frank Ahmad, and the head of the Historical Society, David Pratchett, to give them a tour of the Delano Library. It was really just a formality since he had received the final sign-off over a week ago.

Reid offered a small smile. “Good. They loved everything we did. Frank couldn’t get enough of the chandeliers. I think he wants to have replicas made for his house.” He laughed, or at least he tried to, but it didn’t quite come out that way.

“That’s great. Although, I’m not surprised they loved it. How could they not? You and the guys did such an amazing job.”

“Don’t take yourself out of the equation. We did it. You should be really proud of yourself for all the work you did on this,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine. “I know I’m proud of you.”

“Reid,” I started. What I wanted to say was that I loved him. That I was madly, stupidly in love with him. Instead, what I said was, “Thank you. That means a lot to me. ”

From the moment we left the restaurant, Reid didn’t stop touching me.

His hand on my back. His fingers curled around mine on his center console.

His palm sliding up and down my leg. We skipped the stroll on the beach and went straight to his house.

My mouth was on his before the door had even shut.

He spun us around and caged me in against the front door.

His chest rose and fell rapidly, but his mouth captured mine with unexpected tenderness.

I wrapped my legs around him, pressing my core into him.

He growled into my mouth as I rocked myself against his hard length.

“Bedroom, now,” I said.

Reid didn’t miss a beat. He held the back of my thighs tightly and carried me into the bedroom. I slid off him slowly, my hands finding their way under his shirt. We took our time undressing each other, one piece of clothing at a time.

“You are fucking perfect, love. So goddamn beautiful.” He laid me on the bed gently, covering my body with his.

His body joined with mine, a raw, powerful need that blew me away.

This was no hard fuck. Nothing quick and dirty about it. Reid made love to me. Slow, exquisite torture that I couldn’t get enough of. I poured everything I felt into him and felt more loved and cherished than I ever had in return.

* * *

I was still amazed every time I saw this building. From the moment I set my eyes on it, I knew it was special, but after all of the work that Reid, Dale, Richie, and Shawn had put into it, it was truly amazing.

Deep oak floors and rich mahogany accents made the space feel cozy, especially in the main reading room, where the gas fireplace was set within a stone chimney and surrounded by plush leather chairs.

The vaulted ceilings lined with intricate chandeliers, spiral staircases to the mezzanine balconies on the second and third floor, and enormous stained and leaded glass windows brought a feeling of grandeur.

On top of that, modern advancements were woven into the technology room, as well as the conference rooms and updated cataloging and sign-out software.

The grand opening was an enormous success. For a public library, I hadn’t expected quite as much fanfare, but it seemed like the entire town had come out to take a walk through and experience the feeling of a time long past.

My phone rang as I was talking with Mrs. Adams about the local art that I had curated. Photos of the Town Hall, Delano Library, and the historic one-room schoolhouse from when they were originally built now hung in various locations, along with some of the remastered art that was already displayed.

I let the call go to voicemail, but as soon as Mrs. Adams stepped away, I glanced at the screen and saw a missed call from Andrew.

Excusing myself to the back of the room, I called him back.

“Hi, Andrew. Sorry I missed your call.”

“Why are you not in the office today?” His gruff voice caught me off guard. So much so that it took me a moment to process his question.

“It’s the grand opening at the Delano Library today,” I replied slowly.

I knew I had told him about it. It was actually surprising that he hadn’t shown up to attend in person.

This project had meant so much to him that I would have thought he would be dying to see the final results and experience the wonder and amazement in the patrons’ eyes as they took it in for the first time.

“Yes. The library is now open. Meaning there is no use for you to be there any longer. I expected you back in town this weekend. And for the record, I did not approve any additional stay or work-related expenses.”

“Of course. No worries about that. I thought you had said that I would hear from you today to go over my next assignment. I didn’t realize you meant in person.

” I almost apologized for the mistake, but it would have been a lie.

It wasn’t a mistake. Andrew had specifically told me that he was going to call me on Monday.

“Be in the office tomorrow. I have your next project lined up, and I’ll need you on-site by Friday for a pre-design meeting.”

“Friday?” My voice was three octaves higher than usual. “Where is it?”

“Michigan. I’ll give you all the details tomorrow. In person,” he punctuated.

I still had to pack up my things from the house. Get Wyatt back his keys. I hadn’t said a proper goodbye to Scarlett or Maeve… or Reid. Tears welled in my eyes, and my chin quivered. Andrew had already hung up, so I pocketed my phone just as a strong hand wrapped around my bicep.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Reid pulled me to him, concern etched across his brow.

“I have to go,” I told him.

“Okay, okay. Let’s get you out of here. What happened? ”

“No. I don’t mean the grand opening. I mean Calla Bay.” Tears were falling from my lashes. My throat was so tight I could barely breathe.

Reid’s eyes widened as a look of panic crossed his features. His jaw tightened, but his thumbs swept under my eyes with a gentleness that made my insides melt.

“When?” His voice was soft and quiet.

“Today.” I pushed my shoulders back and stood up taller, swallowing my tears behind my practiced mask. “Andrew needs to see me in the office tomorrow.”

“What would you say if I asked you to stay?”

The bottom dropped out of my stomach. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. It should have been something that we had discussed long ago. But it wasn’t. My leaving was a given.

This was only ever meant to be temporary.

“Reid,” I started. My heart couldn’t take this. It was already agonizing, planning to leave. Breaking Reid’s heart was too much. “Please don’t do that.”

“Seriously, Claire. Stay. Stay here… with me.” Reid held my face in his hands. His deep brown eyes were laced with pain. “I will build us a house. Give you everything you want. We can have it, Claire. We can have it all, I promise. I love you.”

Tears streamed down my face, my hands clasped over his. I had known that for months, but never had he said those words out loud to me—not on purpose, anyway. My heart was cracked open. I kissed him just shy of obscene, given our current location, and pulled his hands away from my face.

“I love you, Reid. But I have to go.”

I would never forget the look of despair in his eyes as he stepped away from me. He dropped my hands, and I had to stop myself from hurling myself at him, asking him to hold me just a little longer.

This was for the best.

I had to get back to Connecticut. Get back to my real life, my next project to manage, my… Nothing else came to mind. My parents would be fine without me under their wing. Friends had seemed to vanish, which I had to take some responsibility for being away for the last seven months.

Back at Wyatt’s house, my two suitcases were chock-full, and I wasn’t even halfway done packing.

When had I acquired so much stuff? I left the blankets and decor items that I had purchased to make Wyatt’s house feel homier.

I put them in a closet with a note to donate them to Goodwill if he didn’t want them.

The refrigerator was cleaned out, trash taken to the bins, sheets freshly laundered and bed remade.

I packed up the rest of my stuff in loose piles in my trunk.

It wasn’t exactly classy, but it would have to do.

I locked Wyatt’s house up with sweaty palms. My heart beat wildly in my chest. Why did it feel like I was making a mistake? My car idled outside the house for ten minutes while I just sat there, lost in a swirl of emotions.

Reid wasn’t home when I stopped by. I hadn’t wanted him to be home. I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing the pain on his face again. Still, I couldn’t help the pang of disappointment I felt.

I collected the rest of my things that had migrated to his house, except for the ficus tree.

I hoped he kept it. A little reminder of me and our time together.

I left Wyatt’s house key on his counter with a note.

Leaving Reid’s key behind was a lot harder.

Maybe I would mail it to him instead. With a deep breath, I threaded it off my key chain and placed it next to Wyatt’s.

My fingers lingered on the cool metal, itching to pick it back up and take it with me, but I didn’t.

The drive back to Connecticut couldn’t have been more opposite from my initial drive into Calla Bay.

The sun was shining brightly overhead, mocking me.

The radio was unusually silent. There wasn’t a single song that could pull me from the heartbreak pounding through my chest. I heaved in a thick breath, a visceral sob racking through me.

The crying didn’t stop for four hours. The distance separating me from Reid only intensified the broken feeling inside of me.

Like a piece of me had never made it out of Calla Bay.