Page 74 of Hearts on the Line

She rolls her eyes. “The back seat of my dad’s car wasn’t enough?”

I nip at the corner of her jaw as she gives me a low, throaty giggle.

“You’re pure evil.”

She stretches, wriggling her hips beneath me with a sleepy grin on her face. “I’ve been called worse.”

“Then they’re fucking idiots.”

“I wish you’d stop.”

“Stop what?”

I release her hands and roll next to her, tucking her into my body.

“I really thought you hated me. And somehow, that’s easier to believe… less scary. It’s easy when you storm around and grumble and I can pretend I don’t see you hosting a supper club for your grandmother and her friends or stashing cold brew in the fridge for me before you leave to start such a long day. You’re quiet, Ethan. I think you might be scared too.”

She curls our hands together and stretches them out in front of us, weaving our fingers together. Her stacked rings are cold against my warm palm, and I can still see the phantom outline of her engagement ring.

“I don’t want to be quiet with you.”

But that isn’t right. I want to love Sloane loudly. I want to make sure she understands that she is the literal fucking sunshine in my life. That I care about her, not about her dad or whatever else people have clouded her head with between then and now.

She slips her hand free, then pushes herself up on her elbow before she lays her head on my chest. If she notices my heart racing, she doesn’t mention it.

“I’ve traveled around the world, but Merritt Point has always been home to me. I love this town, love the gorgeous beach and how magical summers are here. But it’s you, Ethan, that makes it home.”

Again, that fucking painful crack radiates in my chest, and I tug her a little closer.

“You didn’t have to pick me up on the side of the road when the car broke down, didn’t have to bring me back to your apartment, didn’t have to give me a job or even fix my car. My world was crumbling, and I followed my heart, and it led me back to you. I don’t know what that means for us, just that for now, I want you and this summer, and this fucking dream of a bed…”

I chuckle, trying to breathe through what she just confessed. “Are you just using me for my mattress?”

She rolls away and spreads out. “After that couch?” She peeks at me, arching a brow, and the two of us break out laughing again.

“So, for the summer?” My question hangs in the humid morning between us as the rain keeps drumming against the windows.

“We do the whole friends-with-benefits thing, right?”

Friends.

She was my best friend, probably could be again if she stays, but I don’t necessarily want to be friends with Sloane. I don’t tell her though because a greedy little piece of me will take whatever I can if it means I get to keep her close.

I scrub my hand over the coarse stubble on my cheeks, stretching. “Sure.”

She waggles her eyebrows, then vaults over me. “Good. I have to get ready. Off to run the newspaper.”

“Off to run the world.”

“Let’s not be delusional. The town, maybe. I’d argue Ruth certainly knows all the dirt.”

“And now, so will you.”

“Are you okay with me working this morning? Are you sure?”

“I’ll make it work. Don’t worry.”

I’m worried.