Chapter 1
Caden
The Georgia heat clings to my skin as I step out onto the wraparound porch at Oakside, the scent of jasmine and fresh-cut grass hanging thick in the evening air. I only have a few more days before deployment. Even though I should be packing or getting sleep or doing something productive, I’m hiding out here, trying not to think too hard about what I'm walking into. I've done this before, but something about this time feels different.
Boots tap lightly behind me. I don't turn around because I don't have to. I know that sound. I'd recognize her steps anywhere. Soft, sure. Like she owns the world and has no idea.
Lucy.
She walks up beside me, arms crossed over her chest. Her blonde hair glows silver in the moonlight, and she's wearing one of those flowy sundresses she always picks that drives me halfway insane.
"Are you ever going to ask me out, Caden Mason?"
I choke on air. My head jerks toward her, my body reacting before my mind can catch up.
"What?"
She turns her head, eyes locked on mine. Though she’s absolutely calm—like she's asking about the weather. Like she hasn't just flipped my entire damn world upside down.
"I asked," she says again, a small smile playing on her lips, "if you were ever going to ask me out. Or if you were going to keep pretending I don't exist."
There's no oxygen in my lungs. My chest tightens. Lucy Carr is staring at me as if I hold the sun, making me want to give her everything. But I can't.
"Lucy," I start, shaking my head. "You know why I can't."
"Because of Noah," she says, voice sharper now. "Because I'm his little sister, and you think he'll kill you. Or because you're deploying in less than a week and it'll complicate things. Or maybe both."
I drag a hand down my face, scrubbing at the stubble on my jaw. "It's not that simple."
She steps in close, her perfume hitting me like a right hook. My control's already slipping.
"It is," she says, and her voice is soft now, almost a plea. "You look at me like I'm everything, Caden. You don't even try to hide it. But you do nothing about it either. And I'm tired of pretending that I don't notice. Like I don't care."
My pulse pounds in my ears. She's so close now that I could touch her if I leaned in just an inch. And I want to. God, I want to.
"You deserve better," I say quietly. "Not a guy about to fly into a combat zones. Not someone who'll be gone more than he's home."
She lifts her chin. "Maybe I deserve someone who loves me enough to fight for me, even when it's hard. Even when it's inconvenient."
That hits hard. It cuts right through the armor I've spent years building.
"You think I don't want you?" I whisper, eyes locking with hers. "You think I haven't lain awake every night wishing I could make this easy? Wishing I could keep you?"
She steps in closer, shoes brushing mine. "Then stop wishing and do something. Because I'm not going to wait forever."
The air crackles around us. Her scent wraps around me like a noose. It’s heady and intoxicating. I can't fight it anymore. My control shatters.
Gripping her wrist, I pull her flush against me, crashing my mouth down on hers.
She melts into me instantly, her hands fisting in my shirt, pulling me closer. Her lips are soft and warm, and everything I've imagined for months.
I've kissed girls before. But this? This is something primal. Like I've been starving, and she's the only thing that's ever going to satisfy me.
I back her against the porch column, my hands sliding to frame her face, thumbs brushing along her cheekbones. She makes a small sound in the back of her throat that nearly shreds the last of my control.
"Caden," she breathes against my mouth. Hearing my name on her lips like a prayer breaks something loose in my chest.
"Sunshine," I whisper back, the nickname slipping out before I can stop it. It fits her perfectly. Always has.
