Dare to Resist (Wedding Dare, #0.5)(32)

“Yeah, that’ll work,” she said, smiling.

The three feet separating them was excruciating to bear, especially as an awkwardness settled into the air between them. Kady wanted to throw herself at Colton, climb up his body, and kiss him silly. But this airport wasn’t that big, and she wasn’t sure exactly how close Beckstein’s gate might be. God, she wouldn’t put it past him to be hiding behind some potted plant with his camera phone at the ready.

“Okay, then. I’ll talk to you tonight, cupcake,” he said with a wink. And then he leaned down and gave her the quickest of pecks on the cheek.

Kady rested a hand on his chest before he pulled fully away. “I really want to kiss you,” she whispered. “But thank you for understanding why I can’t.”

“I’d do anything to protect you,” he said, patting her hand where it laid on him.

Her heart and stomach both ached with icy dread as the moment of separation approached.

And then Colton was saying good-bye and walking away across the concourse, other travelers interrupting her line of sight of his tall, broad back until she couldn’t see him anymore. Whether he’d meant to or not, he’d taken her heart with her. What else would explain the hollow, aching emptiness she felt inside her chest?

An incredible sensation of loss swamped her, but Kady forced her feet to move as she went in the opposite direction in search of her gate, which of course ended up being at the very end of the terminal. On the way to the airport, she’d been hungry, but now the restaurants she passed along the way held absolutely no interest for her. Because the only thing that would satisfy her right now was having Colton back in her arms.

Then just say yes.

She couldn’t decide this so quickly, though, could she? There were pros and cons to be argued, arrangements and logistics to be considered, and details to be hammered out.

True. Except on some level her gut said none of that mattered. Not a single bit.

You already know how you feel, Kady. How you’ve always felt.

Also true.

So what are you going to do?

…

Being in the Army meant that Colton had had to say a lot of good-byes over the years. None had been harder than the one he’d just said to Kady Dresco.

Dropping heavily into a seat at his gate, Colton settled his laptop bag at his feet. His plane would start boarding in forty minutes, so at least he didn’t have long to wait.

Colton felt a whole lot like someone had parked a mainframe computer on his chest. The farther he got from Kady, the harder it was to breathe, and the more an aching pain radiated out from his chest.

Ridiculous reaction, maybe, or maybe it made perfect sense. After all, how was it supposed to feel when you’d just left the woman you realized you’re in love with less than a few hours after making the realization? And now he didn’t know when he’d see her again.

Needing to distract himself from missing and wanting Kady, Colton pulled out his smartphone and scrolled through his email in-box. He had a message from Colonel Jepsen. Anticipation squeezing his gut, Colton opened it. As his eyes skimmed over the words, he wasn’t sure to whether to laugh or get down on his knees and thank God.

Jepsen’s team liked some parts of his proposal and some parts of Kady’s. Before they decided which to go with, Jepsen wondered if Colton would be willing to consider sharing the contract such that he and Kady would each head up different parts of the work.

If this wasn’t the universe giving them a giant shove in a particular direction, Colton didn’t know what was.

And now the feeling of missing her was that much stronger. How would Kady react when she received this message?

Damnit. Colton wanted to know—no, he needed to know—what she was thinking, especially given this new news.

But it wasn’t just about the job that he wanted to talk. He hadn’t told her everything he should—namely, he’d never told her exactly how he felt.

Would telling her help her decide or just make the situation that much more confusing?

Certainty flooded through him—if this was a fight, he needed every weapon he could get to win her over—and that meant being honest with his feelings. They needed it, she deserved it, and he couldn’t have meant it more. Amazing how he’d gone thirty-two years before he’d fallen in love—most of that time wondering if he ever would. Now that he had, his heart was in an urgent rush to let the girl know and get her by his side.

Looking at his watch, Colton found he probably had about five minutes to locate Kady’s gate before she’d be on the plane and beyond his reach. He was on his feet and moving almost immediately. Across the aisle from his gate, he spied Beckstein seated and working on his laptop. Perfect, now Colton knew he wouldn’t be anywhere near them when he talked to Kady. Walking at first, then more briskly, and then finally breaking into a run, Colton didn’t care about the looks and stares he was getting.

His phone rang in his pocket. Figures someone would be calling now, but Colton couldn’t take the time to deal with whoever that was. He had to get to Kady before she got on her plane and put a whole lot of airspace between them.

Colton skidded to a halt in front of the bank of monitors, looking for the gate from which the San Francisco flight departed. Gate B-15, which was all the way down the far end of the hallway. Good thing he kept in shape. He took off running again, just as his phone rang for a second time.