This was happening, and it was better than Avery had imagined. Her mouth went dry. Words jumbled.
He moved slowly, too slowly, pulling off her tee like he was opening a fragile gift and pushing aside her bra strap like it was tissue. He admired what he’d unwrapped and shook his head in disbelief, leaning down to kiss that freckle beside her breast.
“I missed this freckle.” Kiss.
“I missed your soft skin.” Kiss.
“I missed my Pepper.” Nibble.
His whisper, his hands smoothing over her sides, and the tickle of his hot breath made Avery writhe in desperation. She hooked her fingers through his belt loops and pulled him to the bed. He eased her onto the mattress, hoisting himself above her so he could gaze down on her.
“You sure?” he asked.
For a split second, she realized her concept for the bed had worked. It felt like being in a tree with Miles. Hidden from the world, wrapped in a safe, warm, comfortable dream. Avery tugged his hips toward hers.
“I’m sure.”
Chapter Sixteen
Miles
June 21 - First Day of Summer
Miles paddled onto Montressa’s beach and savored the crunchy whoosh of sand parting into the shape of the blue canoe’s bow. Sam had come home over the weekend. He’d sat out on Montressa’s front porch and chatted with guests, but kept asking to get out on his beloved lake. After Nate finished his late morning meeting, he and Miles were taking Sam fishing.
Arriving early to make sure they had enough bait was an excuse to see Avery. They’d spent the last week savoring quiet moments together. She’d slept all but one night at the Red House. They’d made breakfast every morning in his kitchen and planned their day. In the evenings, he read on his dock while she painted, this time seated on Adirondack chairs. One day, he sat on the double lounge chair answering emails and gently playing with her hair while she dozed off with her head in his lap.A day ago, she’d examined the firefly tattoo in depth.
“You had them keep our initials in the wings.” She touched her heart. “I love it.”
“Ayuh, makes it so you never leave my side.”
He liked to think he’d understood the single tear in her eye. Sometimes, their years of mutual longing crashed into him too. The tear dropped onto the tattoo, and she’d kissed it away.
Miles had forgotten how Avery always slept with some part of her touching him. Sometimes he’d wake to an arm across his torso, other times the tip of her little toe brushed his shin. He loved how she fell asleep with her head in the crook of his shoulder. Their bodies were making up for lost time.
Miles raised his arms, stretched his tired muscles, and climbed out of the canoe. Ever since the night in the Boathouse five days earlier, he’d been tired in the best way possible. He craved more of this exhaustion and couldn’t get enough of her sweet moans as he kissed his way up her soft inner thigh. As soon as they climaxed, he wanted to make love to her all over again.
He’d had a lot of great sex in the last decade, but things had never gone past casual. This eclipsed that. He wanted Avery to know where she stood—that this relationship meant something. He never felt lonely with Avery, even when she wasn’t beside him. And he didn’t want to be apart from her for long.
But when he thought too much about his life melding with hers, fear crept in. If he loved her, it would hurt more to lose her. He knew what a loss like that meant. He and his father had suffered so much pain when his mother passed away. It left Miles convinced that loving someone led to losing them with no chance of getting them back.
After Maisie Magrum had passed away, Miles and his father handled the loneliness differently. His father quickly started dating Lily’s mom, which seemed to fill the void. That same void consumed Milesand he convinced himself the only way to avoid losing his whole world a second time was to never to love someone so deeply again. He’d confronted some of that in therapy. And while Avery was everything he wanted, the same fear simmered below the surface. Tumbling head over heels scared him.
Miles got out of his boat and tucked his paddle inside, thinking of the easy evening routine he and Avery had settled into. They cooked dinner together and spent the night in his full-size bed. He liked being close to her, but they could use a little more room. He’d asked Wes to make him a larger bed, one with spindles. He didn’t mention this to Wes, but Miles liked having something either one of them could grab onto when they made love.
In some ways, it felt like they’d settled into couple life too quickly. He’d skipped past the light-hearted thrill of asking her out and hearing her say yes. They’d missed out on the end of the first-date roller-coaster dip ofI don’t want this night to endfollowed byIt doesn’t have to be over yetand the emotional high ofWant to come up?
With so much experience, Miles should know how to make a woman feel special. But most of his dates were events that he didn’t plan. He’d been an arm to hold, a tall smile, a stand-in. Avery deserved to be charmed, dazzled, revered. Miles wanted to plan something that left her dancing across water.
He’d considered taking her to the City for a weekend or recreating their first date and hiking up Linden Mountain. There was always kayaking to an island for a picnic. But all of those choices seemed too easy. She deserved something unique, romantic, and intimate. Something picked just for her.
He climbed the granite ledge to the lodge, hoping to catch her for a pre-fishing kiss or two. Nate’s meeting ended in about a half hour. Miles didn’t know the meeting’s purpose, but lately Nate had been talking about fixing the potholes in the driveway before the Fourth ofJuly. It made sense, given they might sell out for the summer onceBright and Earlybroadcasted live from Montressa.
When Miles didn’t find Avery at the front desk, he wandered out to the front circle. At the bottom of the steps to the loft, his FaceTime rang. He slid his phone out of his pocket.
Hayes.
He should take the call. The realtor had emailed both of them the night before. The other potential buyer of the corporate retreat had backed out. He and Hayes should submit an offer. Miles sat on a bench hidden under the sweeping boughs of a pine tree. He could see out, but no one could see in. Children called it “the spy bench.”
