“I still have my old ruck sack somewhere in my house. Pretty sure it’s in my closet. There’s a pocket inside where I kept a picture of you sitting on the dock from when you were a freshman in high school. I saw it on your notebook once in class and took it. That was back when we had algebra together, after I’d already failed it once and it was my last chance to pass. You got an A of course, and I barely passed with a D. I don’t know why I kept it all that time, but I liked to look at it on the hard days when I was overseas. It was the one thing I could take with me that tied me back to Silver Creek when I was so far away. The guys in my unit used to ask if you were my girlfriend. I said the same thing every time—not my girlfriend, just someone I really care about.”
“You’re high.”
“High or not,” I said, “it’s still true.”
Her cheeks turned red as she tried to hide them behind her hands.
“So you felt that way all this time and never once thought it was a good idea to let me know? Not a text? Not a letter? Nothing?”
“Your brother made me swear to stay away from you. I couldn’t break bro code.”
“Screw bro code, Liam. We’re adults now,” she said, laughing, like she couldn’t believe I’d let such a silly promise control me for so long.
I leaned my head back against the couch, studying Molly’s face as she spoke. “Even as adults, Jace would kill me.”
“Jace is not my keeper, you know,” she said. “I’m a grown woman, and who I have sex with is none of my brother’s business.”
I laughed—a real, deep laugh. “Who said anything about having sex?”
She lifted a brow. “If I’m your wifeslashwedding cake baker, isn’t it implied we have sex?”
“Molly McKinley, I am genuinely begging you to stop talking about sex.”
She laughed, shifting onto her knees. “Sex is a natural thing, Liam. Everyone does it.”
I dragged my hands down my face. “Yes, Molls, I’m aware sex is a natural thing. But talking about sex… withyou? That’s treading dangerous water.”
“How so?”
Dammit. Was she really going to make me spell it out?
She leaned closer, and my eyes dropped briefly to the glimpse of cleavage visible above her pajama top.
Someone dump a bucket of ice-cold water over me before I catch on fire.
I shifted, turning my body to face her. “Molly…”
“Liam…” she said, leaning closer.
“Talking about sex around you makes me think about the things I’d want to do if I ever had sex with you,” I admitted.
Damn. Maybe Iwashigh. Usually I ignored Molly’s ridiculous comments, but here I was, diving into the deep end with her on every single one.
“What would you do?” she asked casually, like me answering her question wouldn’t changeeverythingbetween us.
“Do you really want to know?”
“One thousand percent, yes,” she said, urging me on.
I lifted my hand to her cheek, rubbing it gently with my thumb.
“First, I’d pull you close,” I murmured, letting my words linger. “So your body would press against mine, and you’d feel the way I react when I’m near you.”
She didn’t flinch or look away—she just kept staring into my eyes.
“Then, I’d kiss you,” I continued, my voice low. “Soft and slow. I’d memorize the way you taste on my lips.”
Her breathing quickened, chest rising and falling faster. The heat between us was undeniable, like someone had lit a fire between us.
