Page 77 of Wilde Hearts

She leaned forward. “But—”

“But nothing, Pip. That was for you. I’m good.”

Her eyes watched my every move as I stood, adjusted the towel back around my waist and said, “I’m going to go get dressed.”

“Colt?”

Turning, I watched as she stood and walked toward me. “Yeah?”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

I cupped her face in my hands. “I wanted to, Ensley. And I know you feel like you have to do something in return, but that’s not what this is. I wanted to make you feel relaxed. Are you relaxed?”

She laughed. “I’m very relaxed.”

Kissing the tip of her nose, I replied, “Good. Then you get dressed, and I’ll get dressed, before we both lose control.”

She nodded.

“Make yourself at home. I have some freshly squeezed orange juice if you want some.”

“Did you make it?”

“Mom did,” I called out, as I moved into the bathroom and shut the door, but not all the way.

I could hear Ensley moving about in my kitchen. It did something to me, knowing she was here, in my place. A part of me wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I was just glad I hadn’t lost it like a teenage boy when she started to come. I nearly had, yet somehow managed to rein it in.

After getting dressed, I walked out and saw Ensley standing at the back door looking out. I walked up behind her and let my eyes search for what she was looking at.

“What is it?” I asked.

She leaned her body back against mine, and damn if it didn’t feel amazing. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on top of her head.

“Do you remember all the times we would sneak to this cabin and spend hours here?”

I chuckled. “I do remember.”

“This is where I lost my virginity to you.”

“Same for me,” I whispered.

“It feels like it was yesterday, but it also feels like a million years ago.”

I wasn’t sure if I would ever truly be able to make it up to Ensley for leaving. A part of me would always blame myself for the missing ten years, and I knew she might, as well. The best we could do was move forward. With everything.

“You’re going to have to stop doing that.”

Ensley’s words pulled me out of my thoughts. “Doing what?”

She turned in my arms and looked up at me. “Blaming yourself. If we want to move on and see what happens, like I told you yesterday, you and I both have to let go of the past.”

I stared into her beautiful blue eyes. “I don’t feel like I deserve your forgiveness, Pip.”

Ensley let out a soft breath. “If anyone should know about how short life is, it’s the two of us. I’m tired of hanging on to the anger and hurt. Aren’t you?”

I nodded. “More than you know.”

“I’m not saying that I’ll forget, because it impacted the last ten years of my life, but I’m ready to try to forgive and move on. I also think today is going to be a very big stepping stone for you and your family.”