Lana stayed inside all day, working on press releases and social media for her clients. Through the window, she got occasional glimpses of everyone on the horses, laughing and having a good time. It felt a little silly sitting inside while everyone else was outside having fun, but she hadn’t lied about her reasons for not wanting to try, and she’d never been the type of woman to give in to peer pressure. Not that anyone was pressuring her, but she had a lot on her mind, so this was depressing on one hand but necessary for her sanity on another.

Being with Mark every night without making love had been almost cathartic, adding a depth to their relationship she hadn’t been expecting, especially now that she knew she either had to stay in New York or find another PR firm somewhere. That somewhere would almost definitely not be anywhere near Eagle Rock, Montana. While Mark hadn’t made any decisions yet, she’d watched him bonding with Montana, Swede and the others, and saw how easily he fell in with them. It was a good fit all around and she didn’t want to be the reason he decided not to settle down here. He was excited about trying something so new, but with each passing day, she realized winters here would probably destroy her emotionally. Snow and cold were okay but being snowed in with nowhere to go for weeks on end wasn’t her thing.

The hard part would be convincing Mark he had to do what was right for him even if it meant ending what they’d started. She could go to Washington, D.C., with him if he stayed in the military, but then she’d be in an unfamiliar town with a guy who was always going on missions or getting deployed, and in the end, he could get moved to another base at any time, which could mean losing her job with Kate anyway. There were no easy answers, which was what she’d been afraid of; things that seemed too good to be true usually were.

By lunch time she’d worked herself into a bad mood and wanted more than anything to be alone. Unfortunately, the group was on the way in and everyone was chattering, hungry and talking over each other. She gathered up her things to get out of the way and had just put her bag in the living room when strong hands moved around her waist and down her hips. The shot of liquid fire that spread through her made her smile. Even though she hadn’t turned to look at him, her body already knew who was touching it; Mark’s fingers had their own special kind of magic and she’d yearned for it these last few days despite all her reservations.

“Let’s go back to the cabin,” he whispered against her ear. “Everyone will be busy here for at least an hour or two.”

She leaned back against him. “That sounds lovely.”

“I already told Hank we were going out for lunch.”

She smiled, letting him lead her out to the truck.

Ten minutes later they were naked in bed, bodies pressed close, whispering together. Something had been bothering her today and as much as he wanted to make love to her, he needed to talk to her first.

“Tell me what’s going on,” he said, running gentle fingers along her cheek.

“You already know.”

“But what exacerbated it today?”

She sighed. “I realized I don’t belong here.”

“What?” He frowned.

“You love this…the snow, the ranch, driving a pickup, being a bodyguard. I’ve been here less than two weeks and I can’t wait to leave. I hate it.”

“I know, baby.”

“So maybe this…” She looked down at their intertwined bodies. “Maybe it would be best if we didn’t continue this once we leave here.”

“Really.” His voice was soft but his eyes had narrowed.

“You have to decide what you want to do without putting me in the equation. My plans are completely up in the air too, and even if I liked it here, I probably couldn’t get a PR job in this area so what’s the point?”

“The point is how we feel about each other.”

“It’s been a little over a week,” she pointed out feebly. “That’s not very long.”

“It’s been two years of me lusting after you, thinking you were too good for me and that you deserved a man like Dante Lamonte instead, someone who could give you everything you ever dreamed of. I never imagined you had a crush on me too. Now that we’re together it’s better than anything I fantasized about. Why would we end it before we know what’s going on?”

“Because there’s no future. You want to be here, I can see it when you’re with the guys… If you decide not to, that means you’ll stay in the military, and you’ll get moved around, which doesn’t work for me professionally.”

“So…everything is about you?” His eyes glittered almost dangerously. “If I can’t adjust my life to what you need, we’re done?”

Lana lowered her gaze. “I have to work but it’s not fair for me to take some random job I hate so you can follow your dreams. What about mine?”

“Neither of us has decided anything professionally! Why do we have to decide about this?”

“It would be better to wait until we’re completely in love and break each other’s hearts? Or maybe after we’re married with kids, and then one of us has to give in out of necessity, and it’s almost always the woman. That’s not fair and you know it.”

“You’re making plans based on things we have no idea about. Why are you in such a hurry to end this?”

“Because I don’t want to get hurt!” she shot back, sitting up and pulling the sheet up to cover her chest.

She looked so angry sitting there, her green eyes sparking and her gorgeous hair falling across one eye, he just wanted to kiss her. She was upset, though, and he didn’t want that, despite not having any answers.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” was all he could think to say.

“You don’t know that.”

“That’s always the chance you take when you give your heart to someone, isn’t it?”

“This is different.”

“It’s different because you’re making it different,” he said quietly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pulling on his boxers and jeans.

“Where are you going?” she asked softly.

“Downstairs. I’m hungry. Let me know when you’re ready to go. I don’t think there’s any point to this conversation anymore.”

“Mark, wait.”

He paused, looking up after he’d pulled on his Henley.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Looks like you already made up your mind and after chasing you for two years, I’m tired. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, so I’ll abide by your wishes. See you downstairs.”

By the time she’d gotten dressed and composed herself, Lana felt terrible. She hadn’t meant to upset him but she thought she was doing the right thing by cutting things off now. It just felt dreadful and Mark’s polite coolness the rest of the day hurt. When he opted to sleep on the couch instead of upstairs with her later that night, she decided she had to get out of here sooner rather than later. Being together would be hard going forward; staying here with him would be unbearable.

In the morning, before she went downstairs, she called Kate.

“Hey, Lana, Kate’s covered in puke and asked me to answer.” Erin’s voice rang through the phone line.

“Oh no, are the twins sick?” Lana asked, holding the phone with her shoulder as she tugged on jeans.

“Yeah, Kendall’s been puking since yesterday and Kyle just started.”

“Ugh. Okay, never mind. I’ll call her later.”

“She just yelled out to ask if everything’s okay with Aaron.”

“Yes, Aaron’s fine.”

“Is someone else the problem?” Erin asked slowly.

Lana hesitated. Erin and Mark were like brother and sister. Anything she and Erin talked about would undoubtedly get back to him, but with Kate unavailable, she had no one else.

“Is it Mark?” Erin pressed, her voice dropping slightly.

“He’s mad at me,” Lana whispered.

“Why?”

Lana told her about their conversation. “I need to go home. Him avoiding me is worse than fighting.”

Erin sighed. “If it’s any consolation, he’s had a thing for you for a long time, so you probably broke his heart a little and he doesn’t know how else to behave. It’s not personal.”

“Of course it’s personal—but this was exactly what I was trying to avoid. I didn’t want either of us to get hurt.” She sighed sadly. “I fucked up royally, huh?”

“Hang on.” Erin spoke quietly in the background to Kate for a minute or so and then came back on the line. “Kate said you’re not leaving until after the event at the skating rink tomorrow and then the two of you will reassess.”

Lana groaned.

“Listen.” Erin’s voice dropped. “I talked to Mark the other day and he’s crazy about you. He said he thought the feeling was mutual. I get you’re nervous about the timing, but if you love someone enough, the compromise is worth it. Love isn’t always neat and tidy.”

“I don’t know if I love him,” Lana muttered.

Kate yelled something in the background that made Erin laugh. “Kate says you’ve been in love with him for two years, you were just too chicken to admit it.”

Lana groaned.

“She also said you’re just being a ninny because you don’t think you’re pretty enough for him.”

Lana rolled her eyes.

“And you should stop rolling your eyes because she can see you through the phone now that she’s a mom.”

Lana snickered and then she and Erin were both belly laughing.

“You guys aren’t helping,” she protested as she stopped laughing.

“If you break things off,” Kate panted into the phone, “you’re going to regret it.”

“And what do I do if we don’t?” Lana grunted.

“You work it out,” she huffed.

“I’m done with New York,” she admitted. “I want to be able to afford a house, go on vacation… With what you pay me, I’d live really well anywhere else.”

“I know, doll.” Kate was quiet for a moment. “Can you hang on for another six months to a year?”

“To what end?”

“We build up our West Coast clientele and maybe train Leslie to take over New York.” Leslie was their part-time assistant.

“But—”

“Hon, I can’t do this today, but when you leave Montana, come back to Vegas and we’ll regroup, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And Lana?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t give up on Mark that easily. I’ve known him almost as long as I’ve known Erin and he’s a special guy.”

“I know.” She swallowed. “Talk to you later. Kiss the babies for me.”

“Bye!” Kate disconnected and Lana tucked the phone in her pocket. She had so much to think about.