He kisses me like I’ve never been kissed before. Like his entire life depends on just this one moment. I want him to stop because his taste is intoxicating. If this continues, I’ll become addicted to it. One thing I’ve learned after all this time is that there’s no worse feeling than not knowing if I should wait or forget him.

“Five days, please,” he insists as his forehead rests on top of mine.

My chest is tight, and my throat feels like it’s closing in.

It’s just anxiety, Lee, breath through it.

Ha!

As if it’s so easy to breathe through a major life change when one doesn’t even know what’s precisely about to change. I’d like to reset the timer, go back to Friday or Saturday and reboot them. Start anew and ignore my brothers. No, I should go back in time thirty-five years ago, and make sure that Kingston and Bishop don’t hit their heads so many times.

This is all their fault.

Wait, if I go back that far, I might be able to meet my mom. At the thought of my mother, I remember my sweet Cassie. How would she feel if I date her dad? If things don’t work out, she’s going to be crushed. If Heath gives me some of his boys and I have a baby … They can’t live apart. She’s already growing up without a mother.

“Lee, what’s going on in that head of yours?”

“This won’t work,” I conclude. “Have you thought about Cassie?”

“For the next five days, it is just the two of us. We’re not going to think about Cassie, your family, or the town,” he says, grasping both my arms, gently with his hands as his light blue eyes connect with mine. “You’re afraid, I understand.”

“Do you?” I challenge him, “Because I don’t understand myself anymore. And then there are the consequences. It’s easier if I just move away and find a new life. What you’re proposing changes the lives of a lot of people.”

“Moving here shifts the entire landscape of Kentbury. Your departure would alter my life, who I am, and my future,” he says in a desperate tone. “I’d be hollow for the rest of my life.”

“You’ll be fine,” I reassure him with the same words I’ve been repeating inside my head since I decided to come to New York.

“You know that I suck at relationships. You’ve seen my role models. Both of them seem to be missing emotions and a heart. I’m afraid to lose what we have which is why I’d never dare to think beyond our friendship,” he explains in what seems a desperate attempt to convince me that what he’s done in the past is to save us. “I can’t afford to lose you.”

“Why now?”

“I can’t deal with the idea of not seeing you every day, of not listening to your voice or looking at your beautiful face. You have this magical power to make everyone feel special. When you’re next to me, I feel invincible.”

“You can still lose me,” I say, skeptical about the situation and his change of heart.

He nods. “At least a few years from now, when you visit Kentbury with your new family, I’ll be able to say I gave it my best—and I’m happy because she’s happy.”

His words take my breath away. They’re perfect. Each one filled with sadness and yet a hint of hope.

“This week will be one of my most cherished memories,” he concludes.

I fight the tears, but a few escape. He clears them with his thumb and asks, “What’s the matter?”

“What you said reminds me of Dad. He loves Mom so much he’s never moved on. When we ask him, he always says he has us. We’re the best part of the two of them. He doesn’t need more. One day, they’ll find each other in heaven where they can be together again—forever.”

I use the long sleeves of my shirt to wipe my eyes. “That’s the kind of love that I want.”

He takes me into his arms, rocking me from side to side. “Stay with me, Lee. Let us be whatever we’re supposed to be. Don’t fight us.”

Dating Heath seems like a dream. Dreams can come true, but what if I wake up in the middle of the perfect kiss and get hit by the rawness of reality? He’s just a friend.

I want to believe in the magic of love, soul mates, and Heath Miller.

Maybe I should, but it’s hard to believe after so many years. Heath has never let me down. I should trust him. He’s never promised more than being there for me when I need him. And he’s always there. Sun, rain, or in this case, snow.

Five days he asked for, and when I told him I had the interview tomorrow, he wasn’t pleased. He felt like I was already giving up.

The job interview isn’t about him. It’s about me. I don’t want to look back on my life in twenty years’ time and wonder about the things I avoided or let go because I stopped putting myself first. Like getting this job at The Ambassador. I’m going to continue the process because I want options. Or at least, I’ll show myself that I’m capable of doing more than running the B&B and the gift shop while making sure that my brothers don’t ruin our legacy.

Heath isn’t thrilled about my decision, but he understands and supports me. Tonight, we’re going out on our first date—after I fix my hair and hopefully my nails. Once he leaves the room, I call the front desk to see if they have any appointments open at their spa and salon. While waiting for them to answer, I browse through their menu of services. I might ask for a lavender and cucumber wrap massage later this week. Thankfully, they can squeeze me in to do my hair, not my nails.

While I’m on my way to my appointment, I text Kingston.

Lee: We should add a spa in the resort and have Karla Olson run it.

He doesn’t answer. I forget about him while I get pampered. We can talk about the family business next weekend. After a couple of hours, I feel like a model. It’s been too long since the last time I got a haircut, let alone have my hair done by a professional. Karla, the town’s stylist, only cuts it and sends me on my merry way home. When I reach the elevator bank there’s a noise coming from inside of my purse. My phone vibrating.

King: She has her own salon, why would she want to do that?

Ugh, why can’t he answer my texts when I send them.

Lee: We’d be offering services that she doesn’t have in her salon, like massages, facials, wraps and many more. We’ll have the menu on our webpage. Pair them up with couples’ weekends at the B&B.

King: I don’t like the idea, not for the resort. We can renovate the B&B and add a wing with a couple of extra rooms.

Lee: We don’t touch the Victorian house—it’s a historical building.

I huff and push the elevator button. Then I text Heath

Lee: I’m almost ready.

Heath: Take your time, text me when you want me to pick you up. Our reservation is at seven. Do you want to skate at Rockefeller Center tomorrow?

Lee: Maybe, can we decide that tomorrow?

Heath: They have a VIP service, we’d have to buy the tickets today.

Lee: Yes, I’d love to. Maybe next time we can bring Cassie with us.

King’s text comes right after I send the one to Heath.

King: The spa won’t bring any new customers.

Of course, it will. Who wouldn’t want to book a girl’s weekend in Vermont and be pampered at our state-of-the-art spa?

Lee: We can discuss it when I’m back. It wouldn’t happen overnight, but we should start planning.

King: You’re leaving, remember?

Lee: Bishop, you can butt in the conversation whenever you want.

King: He’s at Dad’s, helping him with Cassie. Let things be.

Lee: You’re not the only one who can decide what to do with the resort. We each own a fourth of it.

If I can convince Dad and Bishop, whatever King thinks is obsolete.

King: More like you and Dad own a fourth and the other fifty gets to decide what we do, but we can talk about that later. I’m on a conference call.

Lee: BISHOP did you sell your part of the resort to King?

I swear, I’m going to kill them.

Hops: I didn’t sell it, I exchanged it for his part of the cider mill. It’s just a ten-year deal so he could renovate it. We all win.

Lee: You’re the only one who wins. No wonder he has no say around the orchard and the cider. What about the vineyard?

Hops: Are we buying it? It’d be perfect to market the cider.

Lee: We can have tours, wine tastes, and weddings. The spa would benefit from it. There’s a perfect place where we can build the spa instead of adding it to the resort.

King: Stop, you two. We can’t afford the vineyard.

Lee: It’s a good move, there’s so much we could do with it during the summer. You said it could happen.

King: We can’t afford it at the moment, and I don’t think we can get a loan. The Victorian house is under your name, and the resort can’t be used as collateral.

Lee: So we can’t add a spa, and the vineyard is a no go? I demand to see the books of the resort. I’m sure Dad would like that too.

King: I saved the place, you have no right to demand the books because you think we’re in trouble.

Lee: When were we in trouble?

King: Lee, stop micromanaging. When you come back, we can sit down and discuss everything that I had to do to renovate the place. Maybe you’ll agree to restore the B&B.

Lee: Over my dead body, King. That’s a piece of history, leave it alone.

When I arrive at my floor, Heath’s leaning against the door of his room with a worried, dreamy, and handsome face. My stomach becomes a big knot and the frantic race of my heart barely allows me to hear when he asks, “Are you okay?”

The need for a kiss ceases, as I wonder, how does he know I’m not?

My phone vibrates again, and I decide to shove it back in my purse.

I sigh and shake my head. “As soon as I find out what King did with the resort, I’m going to kill him—and whoever helped him.”

“You look beautiful,” he says, cupping my face and kissing my lips. “Let’s go for dinner before you start thinking about our funeral.”

“Our?” I narrow my gaze. “Did you help him?”

“I like to think that I helped you, not just him. We can sit down and discuss it when we’re back home. This week is all about pleasure, no business. Get ready.” He kisses my nose and leaves to his room.