“He saw enough to have questions.”
“Probably.” I rest my chin on the top of her head. “I might have a few myself.”
She sighs and presses her cheek to my chest. “Me, too.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
She’s quiet for a moment and then, “Am I an awful person for wanting this?”
I pull back to see tears gathering in her eyes. “Hayden…”
“Do you think I’m an awful person?” She blinks up at me, her bottom lip quivering. “I know it seems like things are happening too quickly and in some ways maybe they are, because I was engaged and we were together for a long time. But it’s not like I just woke up one morning and decided I didn’t love him anymore.”
“Baby—”
“I’ve wanted to say this since I came to Cole Creek. Please let me.” She swallows hard and I nod. “It’s more like I felt it happening slowly and so did he, and neither of us knew what to do about it, because things had been the way they were for so long.”
I brush the tears from her face with my thumbs and she sucks in a shaky breath.
“He hated you, because he knew that, while he and I were falling apart, you and I were getting closer.” Her lashes flutter as her hands moved from my back to my chest. “I never stopped caring about you, Jesse, and, if anything, these past four years have only made me care about you more.”
Hell yes. Hell. Yes.
I lower my forehead to hers and close my eyes as a low, possessive growl rumbles in my chest. My hands tighten at her back and I tug her as close to me as she can get.
“I’ve waited a long time to hear you say that,” I husk.
“I’m sorry for that,” she whispers. “I wasn’t sure if it was just me and I tried not to think about it, let alone to try and figure out if maybe you felt it, too, because it just… it felt wrong. It was wrong.”
“You and I aren’t wrong. We never were.” I shake my head and I stab a finger toward the hall. “That little boy is proof.”
Her face crumples with emotion and she curls into me again, simply holding on.
A dozen different scenarios had run through my head when she told me things were over with Lane, but this is the one I’d hoped was true. Am I glad that I was part of the reason her relationship failed? Yeah. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t respect what she had with Lane, because, as much as I wanted her for myself, I wanted her to be happy more.
But now that she’s here and she’s telling me that it’s me… that it’s us she wants now… it only solidifies what I’d figured out earlier.
This girl is mine, and there is no way in hell I’m letting her go again.
“We don’t need to rush this,” I say into her hair. “In fact, we probably shouldn’t for Jett’s sake.”
“I don’t want to confuse him.” She leans back, wiping away her tears. “But we’ve already lost so much time and, maybe I’m just being selfish, but this is about you and me, just as much as it is about him.”
Damn right, it is. “So, how do we do this?”
“As much as I wish you could stay tonight, I think it’s best if you go. We both need a moment to breathe. Tomorrow, too, so we don’t overwhelm Jett. You’ll be working most of the day, anyway, right?”
“Probably.”
“And then Sunday, we’ll go to the lake like we planned. I’ll pack a picnic and we’ll hang out and see how it goes.”
“He hasn’t been bothered by us hanging out yet…”
“Right, but that was before he busted us making out like teenagers.” A smirk tugs at her lips and I chuckle.
“Good point.”
She toes up for a kiss and her belly inadvertently presses against my dick.
I groan and, as much as it pains me to do so, I force myself to break contact and step away. “On that note, I should go.”
She presses her fingers to her lips as I back toward the door. “I had fun tonight.”
“Me, too, babe.” I gesture to my crotch. “Clearly.”
She giggles. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be.” I pause by my shoes. “You gonna touch yourself when I’m gone?”
Her eyes go wide and her cheeks flush, but she nods. “Probably.”
“Good. That’s what I’ll think about when I do the same.”
She drops her chin and laughs as I slip into my sneakers and open the door. “Hey, frat boy?”
“Yeah?”
“Your shirt is inside out.”
Chapter 23
HAYDEN
“Jett Alexander, don’t you dare go by that water without your floaties!”
He glances back from where he’s playing with Jesse’s cousin’s boys, his scowl so serious that I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing.
“Jeez, Mom, don’t be so embarrassing.” Jesse drops down onto the blanket next to me with a wink. “Poor kid’s gonna get a complex.”
“A complex is better than a chest full of lake water.”
“We’ll have to work with him this summer. He did pretty well floating and kicking last year, but I don’t think he’s spent enough time in the water to feel comfortable doing more.”
“I still can’t swim for crap, so I’m afraid that task is going to fall on you, Dad.”
Jesse shoots me a sidelong glance and, though he’s wearing sunglasses, I know his eyes are full of mischief and I know exactly why. “You did fine every time we went in.”
“Because I never let go of you.”
He smirks. “True. You can’t fuck in a lake without holding on.”
“Hush!” I swat at his arm and he laughs. “There are people everywhere.”
“There were people around the first time we did it in the water, too, but you didn’t mind.”
“It was dark.”
“Yeah, but you were loud.”
“Oh, my God.” I hold my hand to my face like a shield between us, glancing around quickly to make sure no one heard.
“You getting sunburned, babe, or are you blushing over there?”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“No, you aren’t.” He tugs down my hand, leans in, and whispers, “Because then we won’t be able to finish what we started Friday night.”
Goose bumps wash over my bare skin and I’m thankful I’m wearing a pullover on top of my swimsuit so he can’t see my nipples tighten.
“You’re right,” I whisper back. “I’ll kill you after.”
His head falls back as full-bellied laughter bursts from his chest. “You know what, babe? It’d be fucking worth it.”
“Daddy, go swimming with me?” Jett pads over, his bare feet full of sand and his little nose pink.
“I thought you’d never ask, little man.”
While Jesse gets to his feet and pulls off his T-shirt, I grab the bottle of sunscreen and crooked my finger at Jett.
“You need a little more on your nose, sweet pea.”
He groans and drags himself over, but not before checking to make sure his buddies aren’t watching.