But a long-awaited prom night tailored specifically for Tara? Finally, something special enough for her. And he got to be her date. He would make it a night neither of them could forget. Which meant he had a shitload of work to do before Thursday.

Since he only had a vague notion of what prom night entails, Seth conducted thorough research on the topic. What the hell was prom proposal? Wow. Kids these days went all out. Well, he would go all out, too. He’d grown a thick skin over the last few years. He wasn’t afraid to humiliate himself a little—or a lot—for the right woman.

Seth moved his tux to the office so Tara could use his room to get ready. She should be coming any minute now. He ambled to his room, then returned to the office shaking his head. He couldn’t remember why he’d walked there in the first place. Then he paced around the oversized desk until he caught himself. Oh, for God’s sake. He was walking around in circles. Calm the hell down, Kim.

He loved Tara. He loved her so much that he needed a bag to breathe into whenever he thought about it. But he wasn’t sure if tonight was the night that he confessed his feelings to her. He had to tell her. There was no question about that. The question was, what comes after that?

Would she be open to a long-distance relationship? Could they take turns visiting each other every couple months? How long would they be able to keep that up? It sounded exhausting. And only getting snippets of her throughout the year wasn’t enough for him. He couldn’t even imagine being far apart from her for months at a time. His soul balked at the idea of leaving her here.

But he couldn’t ask her to come with him. Her life—her dreams—was here in Weldon. No matter how much he wanted to be with her, he would never ask her to give up her dreams for him. He couldn’t ask her for such a great sacrifice, because that wasn’t love. That was possessiveness. He couldn’t bear the idea of asking her to change in any way for him. She was too perfect for that.

What about him? Was going to Paris worth leaving Tara for? Was it his dream? He didn’t know anymore. There was no doubt that it was the chance of a lifetime for a fashion photographer. Fuck. He couldn’t see a way to make it work. But he sure as hell wasn’t giving up on them. There had to be a way. A love this overwhelming could not have found him, only to stop him from having her because there would be an ocean between them.

Seth was pacing in circles again to match his circular thinking. He stopped himself from doing both. He wouldn’t be able to give Tara her special night if he was a nervous wreck. Deep breath. He stomped to the kitchen, poured himself a tall glass of water, and chugged it down.