10. Will

10

WILL

T he line for the Breakfast Breaker stretches around the corner. I curse under my breath as I join the line. I'm wasting pressure minutes that I could be with Stella.

I'm still reeling from our session this morning. How perfectly we fit together. How right she felt in my arms.

How I wanted to hold her tight and never let her go.

The thought of leaving her in an hour makes my chest tighten.

I've never met anyone like Stella before. She's thoughtful and funny, and she makes me feel things in a way I never have before.

I've spent the morning wishing we lived closer so we could get to know each other and see if this could work. But as I stand in a line of hungover bikers, the realization hits me.

I don't need to see if this could work. I already know, deep in my bones, that Stella is the only woman for me .

I want to wake up next to her every day. I want to come home to her and make love to her and make her smile every day of my life.

I don't care what it takes. We'll find a way to be together. Maybe she'll want to move to the mountain, or I'll come to her. Whatever it takes, this isn't the end of our story.

My heart feels lighter, and I can't wait to get back to the motel room to see if she feels the same. And if she does, then I'll do whatever it takes. If I have to up and move to the Sunset Coast, I'll do it.

It takes a good ten minutes to get to the front of the line, but I'm not coming back empty-handed. I order two double bacon sandwiches and a large coffee just how she likes it.

I'm humming to myself as I grab my order. I can't wait to tell her how I feel and figure out how the hell we're going to make this work. I'm sure she feels the same. There's no denying the connection between us.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I stop at a bench to put my coffees down and take the call.

It's Maxine, and she's got a client desperate to talk to me. His deposition hearing is next week, and he's freaking out about it.

I take the call and spend ten minutes reassuring him and going over our approach. Finally, the man's calm and I'm able to hang up.

It's been over twenty minutes since I left Stella, and I wonder if she's still waiting for me in bed, warm and soft .

The parking lot is busy as guests pack up their bikes and hit the road. I take the stairs to the walkway two at a time and push open the door to the hotel room.

The bed's empty and the covers have been hastily pulled up.

"Stella?"

Her bag is gone, and the room seems empty without her clothes strewn everywhere. She must be loading up the bikes with Cleo.

I put the food and coffee down on the table, and my fingers brush a piece of paper with writing scrawled across.

My gaze darts over the writing.

Will,

Thank you for the most amazing fling ever.

I'll never forget you.

Stella xx

It feels like someone's punched me in the stomach. The air expels from my lungs, and I can't breathe. I grab the note and read it again, not believing what I read.

She can't be gone. It can't end like this.

I race out of the motel room and along the walkway to Cleo's room. A cleaning cart is parked outside, and the door is half open.

I push into the room and a woman in an apron looks up at me, startled .

"The people that were staying in this room, where are they?"

She shrugs. "They're gone. Checked out ten minutes ago.

Ten minutes isn't long when you've got kids and bags to organize. They might still be in the parking lot.

I race out of the room and down the stairs, bumping into a man as I go.

"Watch it!" he calls after me.

The parking lot's full of people loading their bikes up. I head to the corner where the Underground Crows were parked.

But there's no sign of Stella or any of them or the van that Cleo was driving with the kids.

I dart around the parking lot looking for Stella or Cleo or anyone they were with. But when ten o'clock rolls around and Luke finds me in a near empty parking lot, I have to face the truth.

It might have meant more to me, but to Stella it was just a fling.

I realized too late I have feelings for her, and now, Stella is gone.