Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Hamlet waddled behind me, and I lifted him to the edge of my bed, wishing he’d chosen another room because it only served as an additional reminder of my inevitable departure. But maybe somehow, he knew I needed the company right then.
As I lay in bed, I heard Kerry use the bathroom, and I could’ve sworn I briefly heard the doorknob jiggle on my side before he cut the lights and padded away. So maybe he’d had the same idea as me before scrapping it. The urge to say more before it was too late.
I rolled out of bed and tiptoed toward his side of the bathroom. I knocked quietly, then waited. When I heard his murmur of assent, I went in, and found him lying in bed, facing me.
“Is this okay?” I asked in a tentative tone, approaching him.
His gaze darted toward the door to make sure it was closed before he nodded.
“Don’t worry, I’ll only be here a minute.”
“I just don’t want anyone to think…”
“I get it.” Though his hesitation made me feel unsettled. “Did something happen?”
“Sienna and I had some words, and I confronted her about Brad.” So my suspicions had been correct. He sighed and shifted in bed. “And she also… She might suspect somethin’ more between us, so it’s better we just leave it…”
“Enough said.” Fuck, I did not want to ruin anything for him.
The idea made me hesitate, and I almost turned toward the bathroom, when he reached for my hand. And just that small gesture made me feel connected again, which was flimsy at best. But I’d felt out of sorts the last couple of days, so feeling his warm touch settled my chaotic brain. Even better if we could only retreat inside our little bubble, where it was just me and him against the world. Except that was a false equivalence. It was never us together, no matter how much it felt like it sometimes. It was just one summer of making each other feel good, on borrowed time.
So why the hell was I standing in his room in the middle of the night?
“Everythin’ okay?” he asked, and the way his features softened right then was unnerving. It made me want to curl up in a ball against his chest like I’d done the other night.
I briefly squeezed my eyes shut. “Yeah, sure. I just…” Here goes nothing. “I didn’t want to leave without you knowing—”
“You don’t have to say anything to me…” he interrupted, but when I placed my finger to my lips, his response trailed off.
“Let me get it out,” I told him, my throat suddenly tight with emotion.
“Okay.” He lifted the covers and held them open in invitation, and I wanted so badly to feel his warmth one last time. But I hesitated because it would only renew my longing for him.
Instead, I sat down on the edge of the mattress and entangled our fingers. “I had no real expectations coming out here this summer. In fact, I considered the possibility that I might not even last.”
He chuckled a little and squeezed my hand.
“I’ve never…experienced this sort of thing before,” I admitted, and I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears.
“What do you mean?” he asked in a hoarse voice, and I was grateful for the darkened room to help disguise my vulnerability.
“This thing between us…this wild attraction and overwhelming connection…” When I heard his breath catch, I pushed forward, bolstered by his reaction, hoping it meant he felt the same. “You’ve come to mean something to me.”
He grasped my hand to his chest, and I could feel his heart thrashing against my palm. “You mean somethin’ to me too.”
I inhaled sharply. “Fuck.”
“But, Julian—”
“I know what you’re gonna say,” I blurted out, afraid to hear the words from his lips. “That this can’t work…that we’re family, even though we’re technically not…that it’s not the right time… And you’re probably right.”
I could see him holding his breath as so many emotions swirled in his irises.
“So thank you for this little slice of happiness. That’s it. That was all I wanted to say. It was—”
“Fuckin’ hell.” He sprang up so suddenly, it took me by surprise, and before I knew what was happening, my face was in his hands and he was crushing our lips together in a blistering kiss that lasted forever and no time at all. As he drew back, he brushed his lips against my cheeks and temple and the corner of my mouth. “I was going to come to you…but I was afraid saying it out loud would feel too raw, too brutal.”
I gripped his waist and drew him nearer, our foreheads close together. “Say it anyway before we run out of time.”
He stared into my eyes a long moment, the tenderness in his gaze my undoing. “I wanted to tell you that, in any other circumstance, I’d want to try, with you.”