The phone buzzed again. Cassie let out a groan and buried her face in her hands. She couldn’t turn it off; she couldn’t escape. Didn’t he know every time it rang her heart splintered a little more?
Puffing out a frustrated breath, she stared at the vibrating gadget. She was stronger than this. She could handle one phone call. With a shaking hand, she picked up her cell and answered, “Hello?”
“Cassie, don’t hang up!”
“Brad, I can’t talk to you right now. It’s too hard.”
“I know, sweetheart.” His warm, tender tone washed over her like sunshine after a cold dreary day. “It hurts me too. Listen, where are you?”
Where did he think she’d be? “I’m at home, why?”
“You are?” Surprise pitched his voice. “I mean…okay…where?”
A pained frown settled into her brow as she reached deep inside herself for patience. Again, she reminded herself that despite the way her heart skipped at every word he uttered, she could survive one simple phone call. “In my room. Why?”
“Which room?”
“What’s going on?”
His sigh washed through the line and across her skin. Goosebumps lifted on her arms. If she closed her eyes long enough, she could almost see the resignation in his handsome face. Oh, God, this was killing her. All she wanted was to tell him she was sorry and promise to arrive on the next flight out. “I have to go. I’m expecting a client to call.”
“Wait! Just…wait a minute. You aren’t in the room we stayed in, are you?”
“No.” She could hardly look at that door without bursting into tears. Since she’d hung up Saturday night, she’d locked herself up in here, where the memories lingered, but didn’t threaten to suffocate her. “I’m in the old room.”
“Did it snow last night?”
“Yes. It’s snowing now. What do you want?”
His voice lowered to an intimate tone. “Did you think of me?”
An anguished whimper worked its way up her throat, and she squeezed her eyes shut tight. Still, she couldn’t stop the honesty from tumbling free. “I always think of you.”
A heavy beat of silence fell between them. The sound of his breathing filled her ears, along with the rush of wind. She couldn’t help but ask, “Is it snowing where you are?”
“Yes,” he answered quietly. “I miss you.”
Oh, God. Tears pricked her eyes. “Don’t…” she whispered.
“I need you to do me a favor, beautiful.” Thick with emotion, his voice was little more than a rasp.
“What?”
“I think I left something important in that bedroom. Would you mind to look?”
No, no, no…she couldn’t walk in there if she intended to sleep at night. All she’d see was his big strong body gliding against hers, his mouth and hands ushering her into ecstasy. She’d feel his breath against the back of her neck, and her ears would fill with the sound of his hoarse voice as he whispered, I love you.
“Please?” he prompted when she didn’t immediately answer.
Her stomach began to quiver. She swallowed hard and slid off the foot of her bed. “I’m going.” If he’d left something behind, common courtesy demanded she send it to him. It belonged to him, after all.
Time passed like molasses as she made her way down the hall. He said nothing, his silence adding to her rising tension. In and out. Don’t look around. Cassie shoved the door open. “Okay, I’m here. Where? What am I looking for?”
“Over by the window.”
She moved to the wide glass pane that overlooked the hills in her back yard. They’d left the curtains open the last morning he was here, snuggling as they watched the distant skiers coast up the mountain on the lift. Her heart twisted. She avoided looking at the sleigh style bed and the fireplace, fixed her gaze on the parted curtains, and stopped in front of the ottoman chair. She’d set that chair in front of the window, always intending to have a cozy place to read. Now, this last week guaranteed she would never use that chair. Her gaze dropped to the carpet. “What am I looking for?”