“And a night I intend to spend fucking you until neither of us can move.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she pressed her palm flat against the right one like she was checking if she was really blushing. “Goodnight, Cade.”
“Goodnight, baby.”
Her eyes went wide, and for a second, I worried I’d overstepped.
But then her smile turned soft, almost shy, and she whispered, “I like that.”
Something hot and ultra-possessive unfurled in my chest—not the toxic kind, but one that made me want to be the only person who got to call her that. The only man who got to see Stella’s smile go soft like it was doing right now.
I wanted to crawl through the phone and pull her against me. “Good. Because I’m going to keep saying it.”
We stayed on the line for another beat, simply staring at one another with stupid, lovesick expressions on our tired faces, neither of us wanting to be the first to hang up.
“Okay,” she finally said. “I’m really going now.”
“Sure you are.”
“I’m hanging up. I swear.” She laughed, and then the screen went dark.
I set my phone on the nightstand and stared at the ceiling, my chest too full to sleep.
She had a crush on me.
Stella McKinley had feelings for me.
And tomorrow night at the damn bonfire, I was going to have to pretend I didn’t want to kiss her in front of the entire town.
It was going to be the longest night of my life.
But at least I’d get to end it between her thighs.
five
. . .
CADE
The bonfire was already roaringby the time I pulled into the gravel lot at Bayside Park. Orange flames licked at the darkening sky, casting dancing shadows across the crowd. The air smelled like woodsmoke and roasting marshmallows, cut through with the sharp, briny bite of the icy bay beyond.
Long folding tables lined the perimeter of the clearing, sagging under the weight of canned and dry goods, winter coats, and bags of donated clothes. Kids ran in circles screeching, while adults huddled in clusters, red Solo cups in hand, and their breath fogging in the frigid air.
I scanned the crowd, spotting Colin almost immediately, standing near the makeshift stage with a beer in one hand and his phone in the other. He looked up as I approached and grinned.
“There you are.” He slapped me on the back hard enough to make me stumble forward a step. “Was worried you might bail.”
“And miss this? Nah.” I grabbed a beer from the cooler at his feet and cracked it open, taking a long pull.
“Liar. You hate wholesome, fun-for-the-whole-family shit like this.”
“Yeah, well.” I shrugged, letting my gaze drift across the crowd, searching for a particular leather jacket and dark hair. “Good cause.”
Colin studied me for a second, his eyes narrowing slightly, but then Zach Hammond, the new lead singer of his band, called his name from a few feet away, and Colin’s entire body language shifted.
His shoulders straightened, and his head whipped around. When he spotted Zach by the generators, gesturing for Colin to join him, my best friend’s face lit up like someone had plugged him directly into the fucking power grid.
“Be right back,” he said, already moving toward Zach before I could even respond.
