“You’re not sick.”
Her eyes narrow. “You don’t know that.”
“I know you don’t have a fever, and you haven’t had to use that tissue a single time since your first dramatic nose wipe.”
“Dramatic—” Lark’s eyebrows shoot up. “Are you calling me a liar?”
I lift my hands in the universal sign of surrender. “I’m not calling you anything. I just know you’re not sick, and I really want to take you fishing.”
“No, you are calling me a liar. I’m not stupid, Mason,” she says, but she doesn’t sound nearly as outraged as the old Lark would have. The old Lark took great pride in her honesty. “If you’re going to insult me, at least have the guts to own it.”
“All right.” I step closer, bracing my hands on the door on either side of her face, trapping her within the circle of my arms. She tilts her head back, her lips parting in a way that has me dying to kiss her all over again. Instead, I whisper, “Unless I’m sorely mistaken, you’re lying about being sick in order to get out of going on a second date with me. But the real question is…why? What are you afraid of?”
She huffs. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Really?” I prod gently. “It’s okay to be afraid. I’m afraid all the time. The trick is not to let fear keep you from enjoying the good stuff.”
The skin between her brows wrinkles. “But is this the good stuff?”
I lean closer, until I can feel her breath on my lips and my entire body starts to hum. “I certainly think so. Nothing makes me happier than being with you.”
“Nothing?” she echoes in a breathy whisper.
“Nothing,” I assure her.
Her gaze flicks from my eyes to my mouth, and her tongue slips out to wet her lips, making things low in my body twist. God, how I want to taste her, to pull her so close her breasts are pressed tight to my chest and her—
“You have to go, Mason,” Lark says, her words ice water poured down the back of my shirt.
I flinch. “What?”
“You have to go. I can’t do this. I can’t…” She swallows hard and shakes her head. “I thought I could, but I just want to enjoy my vacation. And I can’t do that with you showing up every day making me feel all…” Her eyes squeeze closed. “I just can’t, okay?”
“Making you feel all what?”
“No.” She shakes her head again, her eyes still closed.
“Please, Lark,” I beg. “If you don’t tell me what you’re feeling, how can I help you feel better?”
“I don’t need you to help me,” she says. “I just need you to go.”
My throat tightens. “But I thought we had a good time last night.”
“We did have a good time.” She rakes a clawed hand through her hair. “Too good a time, and I went to bed feeling sad and alone for the first time since I finally accepted you weren’t ever coming back.” She lifts her eyes, her gaze filled with pain I put there. “It took over a year to stop hurting all the time, Mason, and I can’t… I can’t forget that, even if I wanted to, and I’m not sure I do.”
I nod, though I secretly wish I could make us both forget.
“I’m stronger and smarter than I used to be,” she continues. “I can take care of myself and other people and I don’t have to call my boyfriend to see what he thinks every time I need to make a decision.”
I frown. “You never—”
“Yes, I did, and we both know it,” she says, her tone gentler than it was before. “And that’s okay. I was just a kid when we started dating. I needed someone to lean on. But I don’t need that anymore. Now, people lean on me, and I don’t want to give that up to become some starry eyed kid in love all over again.”
I stare hard at her, into her, but she doesn’t blink or look away. She’s telling the truth. She honestly believes this isn’t going to work, no matter what I do to try to convince her otherwise.
I suppose most men would take that at face value, count their losses, and slink off somewhere to lick their wounds in private, but I’m not most men.
Uncle Parker was certain I’d never make it through medical school. In his eyes, my failure was confirmed before classes even started. But I refused to accept my uncle’s bleak vision of my future, and I refuse to accept Lark’s, either.
Not until I’ve given this everything I’ve got.
I can make her happy, I know I can, if she’ll just give me the chance.
“Six more dates,” I say after a beat. “And then I’m gone.”
She growls beneath her breath. “Are you listening? I don’t—”
“I am listening,” I cut in evenly. “I don’t want you to lose anything you’ve gained. I want you to be strong and independent, but I also want you. In my life. However that shakes out. We were good friends once, and I know we can be again.”