He sighs and holds onto me tighter. “Not here, that’s for sure.”
“The relief on your face is almost comical,” I muse.
“I could say the same foryou,” he quips with a raise of his brows. He then grabs my ass and pulls me even closer to him.
I run the back of my left hand over the sharp angle of his cheek. “So, what happens now?”
He presses a long, almost bruising kiss on my lips. “You tell me.” Curiosity and worry are clearly visible on his face.
“I don’t wanna stay away from you again,” I tell him honestly. “I made that mistake 11 years ago, but I won’t make it again. And it’s because I don’t have it in me to go through everything that I went through after you left, Cass. I need you; I can’t live without you.”
There’s a stark hint of surprise on his face, one where his brows furrow and his forehead creases. He grins regardless of it, and I notice how his shoulders relax at my admission.
“God, I can’t fucking live without you either, Nia, not anymore.” He kisses me again. “But, are you sure you’re ready to move so far from Adenbrooke?”
“I wanna try,” I answer. “I wanna make things work between us.”
“Me too,” he says around a smile.
I press my lips to his, and he in turn opens his mouth for me. “Noah is gonna flip when I tell him,” I whisper.
“Don’t care.” Cass kisses me hard enough that I moan and rock my hips against his.
“You should.” I move back. “He’ll need time to come to terms with the fact that I’ll be leaving Adenbrooke. We run the café together, Cass; he’s my fuckingbrother. My parents are pretty chill, so I’m sure they’ll be open to the idea, but Noah loves me a little too fiercely. He wants nothing but the best for me, yeah, but when he realizes I’m giving up my life here for you, he might have a few things to say about that.”
Cass frowns/pouts. I’m not sure which one it is. Either way, it’s hilarious.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks.
I lift a shoulder. “No offense?”
“Offense fully taken, Miss Connell,” he quips, then gives me a cheeky grin. “I’ll talk to Noah. We’re the best of buds; I’m sure he’ll understand.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Oh yeah?”
“Pssh, yeah; duh.” He waves a hand before him, which makes me laugh.
“If you two really arethe best of buds, then why did he threaten to punch your teeth in when you came to my house and insisted on talking to me after I ran out of the diner?”
Cass’s mouth moves, but no words come out.
“Huh, what was that?” I lean in and put my ear close to his face. “Can you repeat that, please?”
He huffs, and just when I think he’s going to reply to me with a snarky comment or something, he moves his hands from my ass to my waist.
“What, have I left you speech–” I stop and yelp when he starts tickling me. “Cass, no!” I try to get off him, but he grabs me before I can, then tickles me harder. “Fucking stop!”
“You wanna taunt me again, Nia?” he says with a smirk. “Go on; give it your best shot.”
“You’re evil.” I push at his chest, but when he doesn’t budge, I shift a little and cup his crotch from over his jeans.
Cass sucks in a breath, and his hands immediately stop where they are. “Not fair, Connell,” he remarks, “but I like it – alot.”
“It’s so damn easy to get distracted with you,” I tell him with a shake of my head.
He gives me a wink. “Why are you even worried? It’s just Noah, babe. I’ll talk to him.”
“It’s not just him.” I lean against the steering wheel. “It’s about the café and my life here. I’ve lived it all for so long that I don’t know what I’d do without it.”
