"So, you are going back ?" Annie repeated.
"I am not going home. I am just going to Skagway. I need to sign some papers for the mines I am buying. I will be back in a few days."
"Right." Annie sipped her drink. So she had a window of those days when Damien would be away. She would escape then.
For five years, she had felt like a piece of herself was missing. She had tried to ignore it, tried to deny it, but deep down, she knew the truth. She missed him. He was right—they were mates. A mate she didn't want, with whom she had a child.
Annie's emotions were a storm she could no longer contain. The thought of possibly never seeing Damien again stirred a deep sorrow. It was a moment she felt compelled to remember, to hold on to, even as it threatened to overwhelm her.
She finished her drink in one long gulp, savouring the burn of the whiskey. Damien, raised an eyebrow as he watched her. "Do you want another?" he asked.