Maybe I was.
“I feel a lot of things, Preston.” She looked into my eyes.Reallylooked at me. “And some of those feelings are for you.”
The words landed like a punch to the chest.
“I don’t want to make anything worse,” I said, my voice low. “We’re already in dangerous territory, Jess.”
She stepped up and into my space, close enough that I could feel her warmth and remember exactly how well she fit against me. “I don’t care anymore.”
My restraint snapped.
I kissed her.
Not gently or carefully. But like I’d been holding myself back for days. All the frustration, anger, and want I had for her until it burst free and poured out into that one moment.
She made a soft sound against my mouth as I pushed her back against the car. Her hands fisted in my shirt, holding me close like she, too, didn’t ever want to let go. For a beat, nothing else existed. It was just the two of us, finally.
And then reality crashed back.
I hated myself for it, but I pulled away first, resting my forehead against hers as I attempted to get my breathing under control. “This isn’t how we fix it.”
Her hands slid down my chest. “I know.”
“I don’t want to be the thing you regret, Jess,” I said. “But I also can’t pretend that night didn’t mean more than it was supposed to. And I definitely won’t pretend thatyoudon’t mean anything.”
She nodded, tears shining in her eyes again. “I can’t either.”
We stood there for another moment, suspended between what we wanted and the mess it would surely make for us, even if we were ready to face it.
Then she stepped back.
“I need time,” she said. “I just need to figure this all out.” She shook her head. “I mean, I onlyjustcalled off my marriage and…the whole… I just need time, Preston.”
Every instinct in me wanted to pull her back to me. Somehow, I forced myself to nod.
“Of course,” I said. “But don’t ask me to pretend that it didn’t matter.”
“Never.”
I stepped back and gave her the space to get into her vehicle. I watched while she drove away, with the echo of her kiss on my lips and the sinking certainty that things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated, and no matter what else, it was far from finished.
Chapter Twenty-One
Preston
I’d already ignored three calls from Grayson by the time Summit and I reached the trailhead. I hadn’t spoken to any of my brothers since being forcibly thrown out of dinner the night before. Something that had never happened before in the history of our family.
Truthfully, I would have expected it to be Reid who’d set that particular record. He was historically the grumpiest asshole in our group. But I guess I’d just never been pushed to my limit before.
And as much as I’d tried not to admit it, Jess Anderson had a whole lot to do with where my limit was.
My phone buzzed again against my thigh as I tightened my pack and let Summit out of the truck. I didn’t bother looking at the screen this time either. I knew exactly what he’d say. Or worse, what he’d ask.
You good?
Wanna talk?
You want company?
