“Good.” Sunny inched closer. “What about her stepfather?”
“He went too far with a housekeeper. She pressed charges. Someone else came forward with her story. He went to jail. Her mother refused to testify against him, thanks to a huge payoff from him. I assume, given her visit to Abby, the money has run out and now she’s looking for more.” I snorted. “Too bad she isn’t gonna get it.”
I shivered a little, and Sunny gasped. “Linc, oh my god, you must be frozen! We need to go.”
I shook my head. “I’m not finished.”
She stood, kicking at the dying fire. “I’ve heard enough that we can go somewhere warm and finish this conversation.”
I peered up at her in the darkness. “Do you believe me?”
She held out her hand. “Yes.”
In the car, I cranked up the heat and hit the button for the seat warmers. Once I had that done, I turned to Sunny. She was looking at me, worried. I needed to finish my story now.
“Abby’s stepfather got out, and now she’s terrified he’ll come after her. Her mother basically threatened to tell him where she is unless Abby gives her money.”
Sunny gasped.
“That’s what you saw, Sunny. Me comforting her, promising her I would help. I will never let that lowlife near her. I can’t.” I wrapped my hands around the steering wheel, holding tight. “I want you in my life, Sunny. I want to explore this with you. To see if we can get past what happened and have a future with each other. But my world contains Abby, and I won’t walk away from her. Or desert her. Everyone else in her life has done that.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
I relaxed at her words.
“Where is Abby now?”
“Locked in my hotel room. Probably asleep. She was exhausted.” When her eyebrows rose in surprise, I explained. “I’ll sleep on the sofa. Every room in the hotel was booked other than mine for the next few nights.”
“It is the long weekend.”
“Yeah, I forgot. I’ll figure it out tomorrow. Meanwhile, she’s safe, and I have someone stationed outside the door, just to make sure of it.”
“You’re a good man, Linc.”
I turned, fully facing her. “Will that force me from your life, Sunny? The presence of another woman equally important to me, yet in a totally different way?”
“No, Linc. As long as I understand what she is to you. It hit me hard this afternoon.”
I ran my knuckles over her cheek, felt the dampness of her tears and the cold of the wind lingering on her skin. “We both have a lot to learn about the other person. So many years to hear about.”
She caught my hand in hers. “I missed you, Linc. I felt as if a part of me was gone.” She swallowed. “But I had my family. I wasn’t locked away somewhere alone. I’m glad-I’m glad you had Abby.”
“She’s family to me, Sunny. Part of my past and my present. I want you to be that and my future.”
“I want that too.”
“I think you’ll like each other. I really do. You’re actually a lot alike.”
“I look forward to meeting her.”
“Good. We’ll make that happen tomorrow.” I paused. “Michael—this afternoon. I sensed how close you two were.”
She shook her head. “We’re friends as well, Linc. I miss Molly. I promised her I would look after all of them. That’s all you saw—friendship. I’m godmother to both of their kids.”
A sigh of relief left my lips. “Okay. Thank you for telling me.”
I glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “It’s late. I know you’re up early, so I should take you home.”
“Are you heading back to Toronto soon?”
“No, I’m staying close to you. I’ll be at the hotel for the next while. I’ll work at the house with Abby and watch over her and be able to see you. If that’s okay.”
“It is.”
I smiled and dared to lean over and brush a kiss to her cheek. “Good. I’ll drive you home.”
“Will you come up, get something to eat and have coffee?”
My smile grew wider. “I thought you’d never ask.”
I followed Sunny up the stairs and into her cozy apartment. Inside, I inhaled with appreciation. It smelled like her—warm, sweet, and lovely. She ducked into the kitchen to make coffee, and I looked around, picking up the pictures she had scattered around. Smiling as I recognized Emily and Hayley—now all grown-up and at university. I felt sad as I looked at pictures of her mom, progressing from the woman I remembered to a frailer, older version. Sunny was in a few of them, and I could see her change from the girl I loved to the woman I met again yesterday. Growing up, her full cheeks slimming out, her body changing from angles to womanly curves, her smile sadder than I remembered, her eyes more haunted.
My gaze was drawn to one photo. High on a shelf and tucked away. My hand shook as I plucked it from the corner. Me, lying in the sun, my chest bare, sunglasses on, my head tilted back as I enjoyed the warmth of the rays on my skin.
“That was at the camp,” she offered as she came into the room, carrying a tray.
“I had no idea you had taken this.”
“I used the phone you bought me. You were alone by the water, relaxing. I saw you and had to take the picture.” She smiled sadly and took it from my hand. “It’s how I always remembered you from that summer. Smiling and happy. In the sun—loving the summer.” She didn’t meet my eyes. “And me.” She slipped it back on the shelf and faced me. “The summer of us.”
I stepped close and slid my arms around her, drawing her close.
“There is more for us, Sunny. If you want it.” I pressed my mouth to her hair, feeling the silkiness of the strands on my lips. “I know I do.”
She fit so well against me, even after all these years. She still nestled under my chin as if she belonged there. Her softness melded with my harder angles exactly the way I remembered. I never wanted to let her go.
She tilted her head back. Her dark brown eyes were filled with emotion. Her hair fell in waves down her back and over my hands. The urge to wrap my fists around the strands made my fingers flex. The desire to kiss her was strong. Her pupils dilated and her breathing picked up, her gaze focused on my mouth. I bent and brushed my lips over hers, a small whimper escaping her mouth.
“I want to, Sunny,” I whispered against her lips. “I want to kiss you. Taste you. Everywhere—for hours. Reacquaint myself with every inch of you. But I don’t want any unanswered questions between us. I want us both to go into this trusting and believing in the other person.” I touched my mouth to hers one more time. “Because this time, come hell or high water, I won’t be able to let you go. I will fight anything and anyone that comes between us. Do you understand me? Once I make you mine again, I will never let you go. Ever.”
Her response was perfect. She pulled my head down to hers, and she kissed me. She swept her tongue into my mouth and stroked it along mine possessively. She tugged on my hair, keeping me close. She licked at me endlessly, then dragged her mouth along my jaw and over to my ear. “Me either, Linc. Me either.”