She chewed on that for a while as she stared at the wall. Loyalty. It sounded nicer than “pushover” but heavier too. “Well, maybe I stayed loyal to the wrong person.”
“Probably,” Rush said. “But there’s no shame in trying to make things work.”
“Even when everyone else thinks it’s not worth it?” Her thoughts drifted to Tucker, to the years she’d spent convincing herself he was what she wanted—needed—despite the concerns of her sisters and her mom. Watching Annette working herself to the bone, raising four girls on her own, had left her craving something more when she thought of her future. Stability. A love story with no missing pieces.
Now, lying in the dark, she wondered if she’d spent all those years determined to build the perfect life, clinging to Tucker despite the whispers in her heart, because admitting she was wrong felt like she was giving up that dream.
“Especially then.” He shifted again, and the mattress dipped, drawing her closer to the heat of his body. “Hope isn’t weak. It’s brave as hell.”
She let that sink in, warmth and something else making her feel softer and more vulnerable. “So, Sheriff Callahan believes in hope. Who knew?”
“Don’t let it get around,”he drawled.
“Are you cold?” she whispered after a moment, inching just a tiny bit closer to his side of the bed.
“No.”
“Oh,” she replied, easing back slightly. “Me neither.”
He let out a loud snore that she was ninety-nine percent sure was fake. She rolled her eyes but got the hint and fell silent, staring at the ceiling and mulling over her life choices.
Minutes passed. Maybe longer. She lost track of how long she lay there, but gradually, inch by inch, she found herself moving closer to the furnace that was his body. His breathing slowed and deepened as she shifted again until she was almost touching him.
A faint shiver ran through her, and a steely arm shot out and wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against a solid, overwhelmingly warm, and undeniably male body. Her eyes went wide at the feel of all that muscle and strength pressed so intimately against her body, sparking something deeper and warmer in her.
His chest rose and fell evenly against her back, his thighs solid and strong behind hers. She fit so nicely here, she thought, wiggling closer into the shape of his body.
“Lie still. Neither one of us can sleep with your teeth chattering like that,” he murmured near her ear. “We need to share body heat.”
She stiffened immediately, her body hyperaware of every single point where they touched. When was the last time she’d slept with someone curled around her? Years, probably. Tucker had always stayed on his side of the bed, and she wasn’t a cuddler either, but right now, wrapped in warmth, she had to admit how nice it felt, even if it was just to share heat.
She shifted back slightly, testing the space between them, and his arm tightened, pulling her even closer. The heat of his body seeped into her muscles, relaxing her completely. Forweeks now, she’d barely slept at all, waking up every night with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She’d convinced herself it was nothing more than wedding jitters, but deep down, her intuition had been whispering that something was wrong. Something she had refused to see.
Now, pressed against Rush’s solid warmth, those anxious thoughts finally quieted. Her lids grew heavy as a slow, sweet warmth spread through her. Maybe she was a cuddler after all, she thought drowsily.
The question had been lingering at the edge of her thoughts from earlier. Before she could stop herself, it slipped out. “Are you married? Is there someone waiting for you at home?”
He didn’t answer right away. The silence stretched long enough that Lily’s pulse kicked up a notch, but having been on the receiving end of a betrayal, she needed to know she wasn’t doing that to someone else.
“No,” he finally said. “Go to sleep.”
Relief flooded her, and she relaxed fully against him. “I’m a very light sleeper,” she mumbled, already starting to feel herself drifting. “And I don’t need much room. You won’t even notice I’m here.”
Her breathing slowed, and that was the last thing she remembered.
Chapter Eight
She slept like the dead.
Not only that, she spent the entire night sleeping like the dead directly on top of him.
Rush woke up before dawn, with warm, soft, sweet weight draped over him like a blanket. Somewhere in the night, despite her reassurances, Lily had ended up on top of him, or she’d tried to anyway. He had woken up more times than he could count with her sprawled on his chest, and every time he’d gently moved her back, another body part had flung itself over him.
One of her legs over his thighs, an arm around his chest with her face buried in his neck. After an hour or so of moving her back to her own side of the bed, he’d given up and held her in place next to him just to get some sleep.
Even now, her head was on his pillow, and she was wrapped around him, soft and warm, and completely oblivious to the havoc she was wreaking on his self-control.
Rush exhaled slowly and let himself look at her as the sun rose and light filled the cabin. Her face was relaxed in sleep, and she looked younger without any makeup, fine boned and delicate. Her skin was creamy and pale against his own darker bodyand lightly freckled on the bridge of her nose. A stray red curl had escaped her bun.
