Where the fuck had that come from?
I shook my head. ‘Never said you had, sweetheart.’
‘I know.’ She twirled the stem of her wineglass around her fingers. ‘But people think simply because I love sex and hate relationships that I’ve got loose morals.’
‘That’s bullshit,’ I cut in.
Her eyes softened. ‘I know.My point is… I don’t really know what my point is, I just needed you to know that I’d never do that.’
‘I know you wouldn’t,’ I said firmly. Call me stupid, but I didn’t need her to tell me that to know it.
She searched my face, looking for something. For the crack that told her I was lying, or didn’t truly mean it. She wouldn’t find it.
‘You’ve got more faith in me than your brother does,’ she muttered. Oliver’s words had cut her deeper than she’d shown.
I flexed my knuckles.FuckingOliver.
‘He needs to learn to shut his damn mouth,’ I huffed out.
She shrugged. ‘He’s your brother, he’s doing his sibling duty.’
‘He’s a fucking hypocrite, the amount of shit I put up with when he was younger and on the team.’ My anger clearly hadn’t abated all that much. She put her glass down and stood up, pressing her palms to my chest, looking up at me.
‘Stop.’ She spoke softly, but might as well have screamed it for how my body reacted.
Instinctively, my hands reached out and covered hers. The thump of my heart pulsed under our palms. Her eyes dipped down to where our hands were connected and I knew she felt my heart rate quicken.
‘You’ve got someone fighting for you, someone in your corner. That will always be a good thing. Even if you can’t see it at the time.’
She didn’t lift her gaze from my chest and I got the feeling that she was talking herself out of saying more. Her mouth would open a millimetre, only to close seconds later. I stayed perfectly still, letting the moment go on as long as she needed it to. I wasn’t about to force any truth from her. Every part of herself she gave me felt like a gift, one I’d keep tucked away in my chest.
Her eyes fluttered closed, and she drew her bottom lip into her mouth. As much as I wanted to pull that from her teeth, I didn’t want to break the spell. So I waited.
We were both yanked out of the moment by Fallon, who came thudding down the stairs, followed by Roxy. Brazenly, she linked her fingers with Rosie’s, pulling them off me.
‘’Scuse me. I require her.’ Fallon didn’t give either of us achance to react. Tugging her to the patio doors. ‘We are making a fire and roasting marshmallows.’
Oliver, who had come sauntering down the stairs seconds after her, tugging on a jumper—no prizes to guess what they were doing upstairs—stifled a laugh.
‘You’regoing to start a fire, Pooh?’
One hand linked with Rosie, the other holding open the back door, Fallon lifted her nose in the air.
‘I can start a fire.’
Fucking hell.The two of them really were two peas in a pod.
Oliver arched a brow in disbelief.
‘Yeah, we are two very smart women, thank you very much.’ Rosie said, mimicking Fallon’s defiant expression.
‘Have you ever even been camping?’ Oliver’s brow quirked. The girls stayed silent for a second, having a conversation with their eyes. Rosie cleared her throat. ‘None of your business.’ She poked Fallon in the shoulder, and the two hustled outside, snapping the door closed.
I breathed out a bemused laugh. ‘Does she know the logs are on the other side of the cabin?’
Oliver came to stand next to me, watching them search the dimly lit patio for what they needed to start the fire.
‘I’m gonna go with no.’ He sighed, a fondness in his expression he only wore for the pink-haired girl out there.
