11
KT
“I should have slipped some Benadryl into their Kool-Aid.”
I lie on the bed in the Roxie Blue beside Laiyla. Chloe is lying perpendicular at our feet. All three of us are sipping beer.
“Potential-parent fail,” Laiyla says.
“Whoa, whoa,” I say. “Exnay on the parentingay. That’s way out of my wheelhouse. This marina is about all the commitment I can handle.”
“Just you wait,” Laiyla says. “First, you’re deciding he’s the only guy you want to date, and it seems effortless. The next thing you know, he’s dropping to one knee at Christmas dinner and you’re planning a wedding.”
“No wedding bells here. I’m only in the market for some killer sex.” I glance at my phone for the time. It’s after ten p.m. “But I’m beginning to think he fell asleep with the girls.”
“With a hot ticket like you waiting on his call?” Chloe says. “No way.”
“Speaking of hot tickets.” I roll my head to look at Chloe. “What’s up with you and hot cop? Why aren’t you two sleeping together, for God’s sake?”
“What? No,” Chloe says, turning her head side to side. “No, no, no. That guy’s got half of Wildfire willing to drop their panties for him, and I’m so over cheaters.”
“That doesn’t mean he’ll cheat,” Laiyla says.
“Maybe a great guy like Levi wouldn’t cheat, but I haven’t had that kind of luck,” she says. “Besides, I’d rather just fantasize. Fantasies are always better than the real thing.”
“I hope and pray you are so damn wrong,” I tell her, then look at Laiyla. “Any more wedding plans?”
A smile creeps over Laiyla’s face. “I think I’d like to hold off until August. I have a feeling running this place the first couple of months is going to be chaos.”
“Good point,” I say.
“August is an amazing time for a wedding,” Chloe says.
“What do you guys think of using that spot on the bluff overlooking the lake as the wedding site we develop first?”
We’ve identified several nice sites for outdoor weddings on the property. More than one site allows for more than one wedding in a weekend, and weddings are huge moneymakers, but we haven’t chosen which one to start with.
“That’s my favorite spot,” I say. “It’s perfect.”
“We should have Levi build a centerpiece between those two oaks,” Chloe adds. “Then the lake will be the backdrop for the ceremony photos.”
“I was thinking of something a little daintier,” Laiyla says, “like an iron arch. Something that would be beautiful draped in fabric and decorated with flowers.”
“Ooo,” Chloe says. “I like that idea.”
“Levi sucks at welding,” I remind them, making Laiyla laugh. “But if you give me a sketch of what you want it to look like, I can do it.”
They both look at me and say, “You weld?”
I smile. “I weld.”
“Of course you do,” Chloe says.
“Of course she does,” Laiyla tells Chloe, then looks at the ceiling again. “It’s also the only spot big enough to seat this entire town. And Levi wants to invite every last Wildfire resident.”
I grin at Laiyla. “Of course he does.”
We’re all laughing when my phone dings. My heart flips, and I lift it and read the text. Girls are finally down. Get over here.
We all go quiet for a long moment.
“I thought you’d pole vault off this bed when he texted,” Laiyla said. “What’s going on?”
“Is this a bad idea?”
Laiyla laughs. “Since when? You’ve been waiting on him for hours.”
I sit up. “I don’t want to hurt him. He’s had enough hurt for a lifetime. He deserves someone who can commit long-term.”
“Don’t you dare sell yourself short,” Laiyla says. “You’re one of the most amazing women I’ve ever met. You’re a gift to anyone who meets you. You could be a vital gift to him.”
“I think you’re afraid.” Chloe’s voice is gentle. “Afraid you’ll get attached, because, yeah, getting attached would be a problem. You’d have to address your fear of true intimacy. True intimacy makes you vulnerable, which I think is your kryptonite.”
I lift a brow at her spirit-junkie talk. “What?”
“Vulnerability, trust… They’re as hard for you as they are for me.”
“Isn’t it hard for everyone?”
“Not like us,” Chloe says. “Our moms and dads left us. Granted, you never knew your mom and you had an amazing father, but he died when you were barely out of your teenage years. You haven’t been committed to anything but work since. Which makes sense—who wants to go through that heartache again?”
“Is that the real reason you’re not dating Xavier?”
“That and the whole man-about-town thing he’s got going on. After what Bodhi did, I’m not up for active competition. I want a man who only wants me. That’s not Xavier’s way. He’s a bit like you in that regard.”
“Well, shit.” I say, seeing things in an entirely new light. “That’s probably why Ben’s been dragging his feet.”
“He’s obviously found a way to deal with it, or he wouldn’t be texting for a booty call.”
“He’s really the perfect guy for friends with benefits,” Laiyla says. “He doesn’t have time to develop any more than that, and he’s already got three beautiful, healthy kids, which means he doesn’t have the whole marriage-baby time-clock thing going on.” Laiyla nudges me with her foot. “Go on.”
Instead of texting Ben back, I just go. I changed when I got home from the party, now in cutoff shorts, a hoodie, and flip-flops, hair up in a messy bun. It’s chilly out, but not bad. When I start up the walk toward his front door, there’s still an inkling of this is a bad idea gnawing at my gut.
Then he opens the door wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and bare feet. His hair is wet, and I can smell his clean, crisp scent from the porch. I realize I’m a little disappointed he showered. I love his natural scent.
I step into the foyer. “Hi.”
He closes the door and immediately wraps his arms around me, picking me up off the floor. I circle his hips with my legs and twine my arms around his neck. Then I kiss him. And kiss him. And kiss him. He didn’t shave in the shower, and his stubble is rough against my face, which I love.
I have no idea where he’s carrying me, but I don’t care. Kissing him seems to fill my soul. When a door closes, I pull back and look around. “What room is this?”
“Guest bedroom. Away from the girls.”
The blinds are drawn, and the light is dim. Still holding on to me, he crawls onto the bed and I let the flip-flops drop from my feet. In the center, he sits back on his heels and draws me close, so I straddle his lap. I fist the back of his tee and pull it up and over his head. He immediately does the same with my hoodie. Then his hands are everywhere, warming my skin and tingling along my nerves. He kisses me deep and slow, and I swear we could be talking without words.