“You love me.”
Her smile was radiant. “I do, but that doesn’t change the fact that your scent should be bottled. All my money problems would end. I’d be rich overnight.”
As far as he was concerned, her money problems were already over. “Josephine Collins,” he teased, already wanting her again – wanting heralways. “Would you exploit me like that?”
“On second thought, no.” She propped her elbows on his chest and smiled down at him. “Women would get one sniff and they’d be all over you. You might not have noticed, but I don’t have your buff bod, and my fighting skills are pathetic.”
Resting his hands over her perfect ass, he promised, “I’ll do all your fighting for you.”
Slowly, her teasing smile eased into seriousness. “I believe you would, but you shouldn’t have to. I don’t ever want to bring you more problems.” She leaned down and kissed him before he could reply. “Sometimes, Hendrix, I want to have your back, too. I want to be whatyouneed, to stand with you when you need someone.”
What she said, knowing how much she meant it... it was the kind of thing that left a man totally undone. “You really don’t know how much you’ve already given me, do you?”
Her smile went silly. “Oh, sure. I’ve moved in on you and given you my worries. You’re floating me financially for the month of December. And Christmas! Hendrix, I’ve dumped Christmas on you, tree, colorful lights and all. Plus you now have a rambunctious seven-year-old who wants all your attention.”
“I love that particular seven-year-old.”
His statement caught her off guard and turned her expression to mush. “He loves you, too. So much.”
“I’m also enjoying the tree. Talk about a nice smell. And the lights are pretty. I consider them a part of our evening walks on the beach.” Her hand in his, Ryder jabbering and occasionally sneaking a shell into his pocket. It was all special to him.
“Hendrix,” she whispered. “There can’t be another man like you anywhere.”
He felt the same about her. “Full disclosure here, okay?”
Brows lifting, she asked, “Are you going to tell me something life altering?”
“Not really, but I don’t want you under the misconception that it’s a big deal not to charge you for the month.” If he had his way, they’d share all the finances going forward. “See, when I was a few years younger than you are now, I inherited from my grandparents.”
Typical of Joey, her first thought wasn’t about the money. “You lost them both? I’m so sorry.”
“Actually, we’d lost my grandpa a few years before that. He’d owned a construction company, and over the years he’d bought a lot of properties.” Talking about money always made Hendrix uneasy. Especially after that tragic Christmas morning, he knew how incredibly fortunate he was. “Long story short, it was a lot of money. Some of the properties went for a fortune when the areaswere revitalized. Overall, my sister and I had left our shares in the trust.”
Her eyes held so much understanding. “You used that money to buy the campground?”
“To start over.” He’d hoped to put all those memories behind him. It hadn’t worked.
Her small, cool hands settled at either side of his jaw. “No one can outrun the past. Wonderful things, and tragic things – they become a part of us. But that doesn’t mean you have to carry them alone.”
“I know.” With Joey’s contagious joy of life, everything was a lot easier.
He opened his mouth to say something important and emotionally significant, but his phone dinged and that sound, the sound he’d been anticipating for so long now, made his heart lurch.
It was the signal from the security cam.
“My phone. I left it in my jeans.” Hastily, he moved Joey to the side so he could leave the bed. He grabbed up his jeans, dug his phone from the pocket and...Son of a bitch.
“What?” She pulled the sheet around her. “Hendrix? What’s happened?”
As he stepped into his jeans, he said, “Get dressed.”
“Oh, God,” she whispered, throwing off the sheet to leave the bed gloriously naked.
Damn, if only they hadn’t been interrupted. Groaning, he said, “No time, honey. I want to catch him red-handed.”
“Him?” she nearly screeched. “Who?”
He shot her a look. “You know who, babe. Now clothes on.”
