“With this.” I felt him smile, and it broke something open inside me. “With something real.”
“I should be scared, and I am. Taking a chance after what happened.”
He nodded, leaning in closer. “Shouldn’t I be scared, too?”
“Depends,” I said, my lips brushing his. “Can you handle losing grilled cheese contests?”
He laughed and held me tighter, giving me all the answers I needed right then. The breeze picked up, blowing my hair into my face. I swept it away, pushing aside the doubt that always came with the past. This time, I had reason to hope it would stay there.
Chase leaned his cheek against my head. “I consider it a minor miracle, but my sister found happiness. Laceywasn’t as affected by our parents as I was. She and Daniel have a happy marriage. I miss her sometimes.”
“You don’t see her much?”
“Less since she got married. They live over in Big Pine Key now.” He shrugged, but there was a hint of melancholy in his voice. “I get it, though. She’s happy.”
“And you’re not?”
He tilted his head and kissed me softly as if to prove otherwise. “Getting there.”
I smiled against his lips, letting myself believe what he was telling me. That we were both getting closer to something we’d never had before. We kissed again, longer this time, and the warmth of him seeped into every corner of doubt I’d ever had.
His hands moved slowly, tracing down the lines of my back as he pulled me into his lap. I shifted, straddling him on the couch as we lost ourselves in each other and the night. This was it. This was what I’d been too scared to imagine. The world fell away, leaving only Chase.
His skin against mine.
His heart against mine.
