Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“What do you mean? More parties?”
He chuckled, setting his glass back on the bar. “Not exactly. Look, Dax and I had a conversation last year, before he moved to Fever Falls, about a promotion for you. I know you’re perfectly fine with what you’re doing, but you have the skills to do the same stuff as Dax, and he’s made it clear recently that he’s ready to settle down. He likes his life in Fever Falls, and I need someone to come on full-time again. I need another Dax, and you know the ropes. You’ve more than earned this—not just a promotion, but potentially buying into a share of the business.”
“Oh my God,” I said, honored that they’d even considered the possibility. “Wait, you’ve talked to Dax about this?” I figured Dax would have brought up how such an opportunity might interfere with my relationship with Sawyer.
“We’ve had several discussions about promoting you—not recently, but I can’t imagine he’ll be against it.”
Ah…so Dax had kept his word and not mentioned how serious Sawyer and I were now.
“I—I—”
“Carter James is at a loss for words?” he asked, laughing. “This is a first.”
“No, it’s just a lot. And we don’t even know if this deal with Morgan Renovere will go through.”
“Fuck this one deal, Carter. That’s not what I’m talking about. I need someone regardless of this opportunity. Don’t you want to get out of that fucking small town and get back to your actual life?”
No, I don’t.
Sure, I had complained and made fun of that town when I’d first started working out there with Dax, but over time, I’d found so many things to love in it…including Sawyer.
Elliott quieted. He gripped the bar before balling his hand into a fist and knocking against it gently. “It’s hard doing all this by myself. For years, I got to beat you two around, and I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss it.”
“Come on. Don’t you have enough women to keep you company out here?”
“I have fun, but I don’t know, maybe because I’m nearing my midthirties, I’m starting to realize…” He hesitated, tearing up. “Carter, I’m lonely. There, I said it. And fun as it can be to find someone to play around with for a while, when you know it’s just going to be that and then nothing…well, it feels emptier than it once did.”
Didn’t I know it. Hadn’t I had so many encounters like that before Sawyer?
Truly, it had been hard for me to know what I was even missing until I met him.
Elliott sniffled, wiping the back of his hand across his face. He wasn’t the kind of guy to show emotion, and never like that, especially not to me. It was difficult to see him struggling.
“Okay, okay, tequila’s making me say some of this, but I’m not going to pretend that it wouldn’t be nice to have one of my buddies out here again. And we don’t have to figure it all out tonight, but come back to Los Angeles, Carter. Dax can have more time to live this life he clearly adores—he’s happier than I’ve ever seen him. KlineSmart Global needs you, and if you take me up on this, which I know you will, you won’t ever have to see Fever Falls again.”
Never see Fever Falls again?
It was too much to think about, dumped on me all at once.
All I could think was…FUCCKKKK…
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Sawyer
I really want to learn to start taking chances…to take risks…to be fearless in what I want, only I haven’t found anything I want enough yet.
~ Sawyer’s Journal, 21 years old.
Carter wasn’t able to come back to Fever Falls on Sunday. It was his job, and I understood. I would never be angry with him about it, but it was disappointing. I’d been excited about our date. I loved spending time with him, and I missed him when he was gone.
I knew he missed me too, even though he often made a joke about it when he told me. That was just how Carter was. When things got close, he relied on his sense of humor to get him through, though there were those moments he let his guard down with me. Recently they happened more, and fuck, did I love them.
So he was busy working in LA, and I was at home in Fever Falls. The thing was, we had both known this was our reality, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with. No matter how our relationship had changed, Carter lived in Los Angeles. Carter had a completely different life from me.
“Who would really want you?”
I fought to shake Julian’s voice out of my head. After all this time, why couldn’t I make him shut up?
It was Friday, a full week from the day Carter and I had missed our date. We spoke on the phone every day and video-chatted at night, which yeah, I had to admit, was a whole lot of fun. But watching Carter jerk off from thousands of miles away wasn’t the same as touching him. Seeing him wear his onesie around his hotel rooms was cute as hell, but I wanted him here with me. Talking to him through the phone until we fell asleep wasn’t as good as talking half the night when we were in bed together.