"Look at me," I tell her, needing to see her beautiful eyes. "Stay with me."
She does, holding my gaze as we find our rhythm. The old bed creaks beneath us. She moves with me like we've done this a hundred times before, her body responding to mine in perfect harmony.
Even though I try to go slow, to make it last, there's a desperation building between us, the knowledge that our time is running out. Urgency is seeping in, knowing that in two days, I'll be halfway across the world.
"Caden," she gasps, her back arching as I hit a spot that makes her tremble. "Please…"
I don't need to ask what she's begging for. I can feel it in the way her body tightens around mine, the flush spreading across her chest, the way her breath comes in short, sharp pants. Shifting my angle, I drive deeper, one hand sliding between us to where we're joined, circling her clit.
When she comes apart beneath me, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed. Her eyes go wide, then flutter shut as she cries out my name, her body clenching around me like a vice. The sight and feel of her unraveling pushes me over the edge, and I follow her with a groan that sounds like it's been ripped from my chest.
I collapse beside her, pulling her against me before our breathing has even steadied. Her head finds its place on my chest, right over my heart, and I wrap my arms around her like I can somehow keep her here forever.
"Jesus, Lucy," I breathe into her hair.
She looks up at me, and there's a new depth in her eyes. It’s as if we've crossed a line we can never uncross.
I kiss the top of her head.
"When I get back, we’ll tell them. Until then, I want this bubble a little longer."
"Okay."
I hold her tighter.
And pray like hell I make it back to her.
Chapter 2
Lucy
Caden,
It's been seven days and seventeen hours since I last saw your face. Not that I'm counting. (Okay, maybe I'm totally counting.)
I've been volunteering more at Oakside, trying to stay busy so no one asks what's wrong, and I don't have to lie. You'd laugh if you saw me trying to wrangle a toolbox while wearing one of Lexi's big maternity aprons.
The world keeps turning like it always does, but it feels different now. Quieter. It’s as if the music's playing inanother room, and I can't quite catch the melody without you.
I haven't told anyone. About us. About this.
I think about the river. The cottage. Your hands. The way you whispered Sunshine, like it was sacred. I'm holding onto that, Caden. Holding onto you.
I love you, Caden Mason.
I loved you when you kissed me on the porch. I loved you when you called me Sunshine. And I love you now, even if I have to do it in silence.
Come back to me safe.
Love,
Lucy
The house is too quiet without him.
It's only been a few weeks since Caden deployed, and already the silence feels like a scream pressing into my chest. I carry it everywhere, through the halls of Oakside, through my morning classes in Savannah.
I hold on to the last words he said to me like a lifeline.“When I get back, we’ll tell them. Until then, I want this bubble a little longer.”
