“Rob, you did not prepare me for any of this.”
“I just…wanted a chance with you.”
“We had that in Montana. You didn’t like it.”
“It’s just?—”
“I know,” I said softly. “It’s not the life for you, but Rob, this is not the life for me. I can’t live like this. I can’t be trapped on the Reed Security property, only going somewhere with an escort.”
“I could get rid of the killer robot,” he tried, stepping forward, sliding his fingers through mine. “We could find a way?—”
I shook my head, hating that I was giving up so easily, but this was not the life for me. I couldn’t even pretend that I might like it here. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us, but especially not Rob. I didn’t want to give him hope when it was so clear I could never be happy here.
“Rob…I think we could have something really amazing,” I whispered, running my hand up his chest, stopping just short of grazing my fingertips over the stubble along his jaw that I loved so much. “Maybe it’s just not meant to be. Your life is here. You’re good at what you do, and I would never ask you to give that up. But my life is in Montana on that ranch with the freedom I need to live my life.”
Nodding, he tightened his grip on my fingers. “I know.”
Forcing a smile, I pressed a kiss to his lips. “It was fun, though.”
“Yeah.” A huff of laughter slipped free. “You have one hell of a right hook.”
My chest tightened painfully as I realized this was really it. We were both giving up, calling it quits on what could have been amazing.
“It was a good adventure,” I whispered.
His fingers speared through my hair, cupping the back of my neck as he tugged me closer. “I’ll never forget a fucking second of it.”
Warm lips closed over mine as tears slid over my cheeks. Never did I think anything could be as painful as this, but dragging things out would only be worse. It was best to call it quits before either of us was more invested.
“I love you, Krista.”
His soft murmur nearly broke me. Burying my head in his chest, I let the tears fall because come morning, I would need to be strong enough to walk away, and tears would not be allowed.
Leaving Rob would be one of the hardest things I ever had to do.
I finished shovingthe last of my things in my bag, which didn’t take long considering I hadn’t had the chance to really unpack anyway. I was doing everything possible to keep my head high and not think of what I was leaving behind because it wouldn’t help a damn thing.
Rob and I were too different, and there was no getting past that. I would never want this life, and he would never be happy in Montana.
A gentle knock at my bedroom door, followed by Claire’s hesitant voice, had me turning with a smile. “Hey.”
“I just came to say goodbye.”
“Yeah, I’ll be heading out soon.”
She nodded, walking further into the room, staring at all my luggage. “You didn’t even get to unpack.”
“It’s better this way,” I sighed, slumping down on the bed. “It’s good that I figured it out before we were in too deep.”
“Yeah, but you were so good together.”
That’s what made this so hard, but I didn’t dare say that out loud and give her the opportunity to sneak in another way to try to change my mind.
“I’ll really miss you,” she said, her lips trembling.
“You hardly know me, Claire.”
“I know, but…we had good times on the road.”