My chest constricts at the mention of her leaving.
I shouldn’t be reacting this way. After all, Boston is my home too. Or at least it’s where I’m living so long as I’m playing for the Titans. I’ve never felt at home in that city the way I feel here and now. Whether it’s Lost Haven or Summer that’s making me feel that way, I haven’t the faintest clue.
“So, uh, what did you say?” I ask, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.
She stares down at her hands, suddenly sober as a Sunday morning. “I told him that I’m leaving tomorrow.”
My heart plummets. “Why’d you say that?”
She meets my eyes. “Because it’s true.”
Suddenly, my throat feels like it’s closing up, like I’m having an allergic reaction to the thought of her leaving. ”Tomorrow?” It comes out more as a croak than a question.
“Yeah. Les has another client lined up for me. One of the team’s personal trainers.” She smacks a hand over her mouth, her wide brown eyes like two full moons. “Forget that I said that,” she mumbles through her fingers. “That should be confidential.”
“I won’t say a thing.”
At my promise, her worried expression fades into a soft smile. It’s the only relief I can get right now.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, but I can’t just leave it at that. I can’t let her slip away without giving her every reason to stay.
“Under one condition.”
The tiniest crease forms between her eyebrows. “What’s that?”
“Stay with me tonight.” The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them.
She fidgets a little, scooting a half inch away from me, and I miss her touch the second it’s gone. “You know I can’t do that, Logan.”
Her lips form a small, sad smile, her eyes brimming with pity. I don’t know if it’s for me or for herself. Maybe a little bit of both. And if I stare into those eyes too much longer, I’ll fall right in.
“Well then. At least let me walk you back to your cabin.”
I shove up to my feet, offering her a hand. She places her palm in mine, and it’s not lost on me that this is the last time I’ll get to do this.
Better make it count.
After saying a quick good-night to my brothers, we slip back into our coats and out into the biting night air. Poor Summer starts shivering instantly, but it doesn’t stop her from blabbering on about how fantastic Graham’s operation is.
“That shandy really is spectacular,” she says enthusiastically, squeezing my hand as we walk past the infamous chicken coop and toward the cabins. “And the whole barn is so beautiful. Can’t you just imagine people coming in from the city? You know, stay at the cabins, go to the brewery. People would love it.”
“People like you?” I ask.
She blushes again, toying with a loose strand of caramel-colored hair that’s blowing around her face. “I’ve certainly enjoyed my stay here, if that’s what you mean.”
What I mean is will you come back and never, ever leave? But that seems a little aggressive. So I say instead, “We’ll be ready whenever you decide to come back.”
“We?” She pauses, assessing me with dark, inquisitive eyes. “Aren’t you headed back to Boston too?”
“Yeah, soon,” I say, because I’m not ready to discuss the idea that I might want to stick around here more permanently. “For now, I think I’m going to be splitting my time when I can. Fly out here during the off season and holidays and all that.” I pause, kicking the gravel with the side of my boot before adding, “Maybe you could join me.”
“We’re not all hockey players,” she reminds me. “Owning my own business means my paid time off is nonexistent. And last I checked, there aren’t a whole lot of athletes that need counseling in Lost Haven.”
I raise the hand that’s not laced with hers. “There’s at least one.”
She laughs, and it warms me up quicker than a beer around a bonfire.
Two weeks ago, this girl was a total stranger. An unwelcome guest in my family home. And here we are, our fingers laced so tightly together that you’d think we’d never let go. And maybe we’re not supposed to. Maybe whatever we have will transfer back to Boston.
A guy can dream, right?
“Well, this is my stop,” she says, pulling me from my daydream.
We’re already back at her cabin. But I don’t want the night to be over, especially not if she was serious about leaving tomorrow.
“I guess it is,” I grumble, cursing myself for not walking slower.
I don’t want her to go. Not into her cabin, and not back to Boston. But I have no right asking her to stay.
Heaving out a sigh, I run my thumb along her soft, sensitive palm one last time. “Have a good night, Summer. I’ll see you in the morning before you go?”
But several heartbeats later, neither of us has moved. We’re frozen in this moment, and with every passing second, I’m slipping deeper into her chocolate-colored eyes.
Should I say something? Do something? Beg her again to come back to my cabin and to never leave my side?
God, even in my head I sound so desperate.
Before I can get a word in edgewise, Summer grips my jacket pulls me into her, knocking all the doubt right out of me. She presses up onto her toes and, without even looking around to see if anyone is watching, seals her lips to mine in a kiss so hot, it could set the cabin behind us aflame.
I push my fingers into her soft hair, sweeping my tongue over her bottom lip. It’s freezing out here, but the heat sparking between each kiss warms me from the inside out. I hardly notice the cold. It’s just me and her, kissing until we’re breathless.
When she pulls away, I bring my hand to her cheek, tracing the flush that’s creeping across her face and down her chest. I want to kiss every square inch of her sweet pink skin.
”Maybe you could come in for just a minute. You know, to warm up,” she says in a small voice, as though it’s just a casual offer.
But we both know better. If I step through her door, every potential version of this evening will end the same—with me tangled up with her until morning.
“Are you sure?”
But she doesn’t respond. Instead, she hauls me close again, sealing her warm mouth to mine. That’s all the yes a man could ever need.
Inside the cabin, we’re out of our coats in record time, tumbling back onto her bed like we’ve done this dozens of times. And in my head, we have. I’ve played out this moment so often while lying awake in bed at night. Usually with my hand inside my boxers.
But this is real. I’m really here, in Summer’s bed, fully mesmerized as she peels out of her heather-gray sweater and shimmies off her skintight black jeans.
She’s a vision in the flickering firelight, which casts shadows that dance along her pale stomach and the curve of her hips. It’s not the first time I’ve seen her in next to nothing. The hot springs did me that favor, back when I was dead set on looking but not touching.
But not tonight. This is the last night I have her here, and I’m tossing every rule into the fire. Tonight, we’re diving headfirst into the flames.
Her eager mouth finds mine right away. Even though her hand rubbing against the front of my jeans is more than a little distracting, I want tonight to be all about her. If this is all we get, just one night together, all I want in the world is to make her feel good.