“Can we watch it this weekend?”Evie asked.
Hannah waved her hand.“I’m sure you’ll have seen it by then.Everyone will be talking about it online.Your friends will want to watch it.Go have fun with your father tonight.You don’t have to come to my house.”
I could have written the script for that load of bullshit.I almost let out a sigh, but I swallowed it back, playing my part in the play of my life.“We can play mini-golf any time, Evie.Why don’t you go to your mother’s tonight and watch the movie?”
“Really?”she asked, her eyes wide and bright.“Are you sure, Dad?”
I smiled at the one person who owned all of me and nodded.“Of course.Your mom’s right.Everyone will be talking about the movie.If you don’t watch it tonight, you’ll feel like you’re missing out.”
“Thanks, Dad.Tomorrow, mini-golf.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
She hugged me tightly.When I looked past her to my ex-wife, I saw the triumphant smile of a woman who won.
And I was the sucker who always let her.
Eleven
Reegan
I saton my Adirondack chair and stared out at the water, releasing a full breath.I was getting spoiled.MacKellar Cove was a great small town, and I loved living there, but I felt the pressure of busyness too often.Being away from it all, I could admit to myself I was running.
I loved Landon when we were together, but I knew we weren’t right for each other.I was scared to admit that to him, or to anyone, for a long time, but when he ended things, it gave me peace.I knew it was the right thing for both of us, even if I didn’t have the courage to do it myself.
Which was why I was running so much.From my fears, from my relationship, from the truth.
A truth I was finally accepting.I wasn’t happy in MacKellar Cove.Not because of MacKellar Cove, but because of me.Because I didn’t have the things I needed there.I had work and I had Landon, and without Landon, I only had work.
In Amethyst Bay, I had Ashlyn.I didn’t want to put my entire future on her, but spending the last month with her made me happier than I’d been in years.
A stick snapped to my left, and I jumped, forgetting where I was.Josh was walking toward me, a look I couldn’t read on his face.And no coffee.
He didn’t sit in the chair next to me.He walked in front of me and offered me his hand.
I put my hand in his.“Where are we going?”
“I have an empty house.”
My lips curled up without hesitation as his words sank in.I stood and hurried with him to his house.As soon as we stepped inside, he pressed me to the wall, covering my body with his.His lips crashed onto mine, igniting all the good parts inside me.
His hands slid up my sides, dragging my tee up my body.He tore his lips from mine and lowered his mouth to my breasts, leaving me to pull my shirt off.I dropped it next to us and pushed my hands into his hair.
He growled and sucked harder, drawing my nipple to a hard peak.He swapped sides, leaving a wet trail between my breasts.His hands curled around my waist, squeezing into my flesh.
“Josh,” I moaned, reaching for his shirt.I’d been dying to get my hands on him, and I was not going to be a selfish lover.I gave as well as I got.
He released my breast with a pop of his lips to help me pull his shirt off.Then he grabbed my hand and tugged me into the house, past the kitchen and living room to a short hallway and into a bedroom with a spectacular view of the lake out the window.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“I agree.”His gaze was locked on me, not the view outside his windows.
“You are good for a woman’s ego.”
He shook his head.“Not any woman.Just you.You’re stunning.”
“Come here,” I whispered, crooking my finger at him.
