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“No, I know what you meant. Besides, I would hate myself if you got eaten by a gator.”

I scoff and he grins. “And what the hell makes you think I’d be the one to get eaten?”

“I just have to run faster than you, baby,” he says, shooting me a look that screams duh and I sputter out a laugh as I cover my heart with my hand.

“Well, my knight in shining armor. Maybe I’ll just kick you in the shins.”

He throws his head back and laughs as warmth spreads through my body. I love that sound.

“It’s really nice to know that we both have our priorities in order.”

I nod. “I think so, too.”

Pulling away from me slightly, he shakes his head. “Smart ass.”

“You started it,” I point out and he looks away to hide his smile. His arms fall off my hips and he holds a hand out to me.

“Come on. It’s about time we got to my surprise.”

I lace my fingers with his and he begins leading me over to the dock. When we get to the edge, he sits first with his legs dangling over the side before helping me down next to him. He wraps his arm around me for a second before pulling away again.

“I changed my mind,” he says, scooting away from the edge of the dock and leaning his back against one of the support posts holding up the roof. When he gets comfortable, he holds his hand out again. “Come here.”

I crawl over to him and he pulls me into his lap so I’m straddling his legs as he presses a button on the stereo and wraps his arms around my waist. My Eyes by Blake Shelton begins playing and I relax into his arms, laying my head on his shoulder.

“You doin’ all right, baby?” he asks and I pull back to look at him.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

He trails his fingers down my back and I shiver. “We don’t really talk about your ex at all but I know you gotta be worried about him.”

I stare down at my fingers for a couple seconds, thinking, before meeting his eyes again. “I’m okay. He hasn’t come around in a while but I know you all are right. He’s out there somewhere, probably watching me. I really just want to move on and leave all that in my past.”

He nods, tightening his arms around me and I lay my head back down on his chest, comforted by the steady beat of his heart in my ear.

“We’ll figure this out, Em. Your brothers and I will find a way to end this.”

I nod into his chest because I know that the three of them would never let anything happen to me. Having Nix by my side makes me feel safer than I have in a long time but I hate that he has to know anything about my past.

“What have they told you?” I ask, my voice barely audible among the chorus of frogs around us. He trails a comforting hand down my back.

“Everything they know. Do you want to tell me more?”

I stiffen in his arms and shake my head. “No.”

“Emma, baby. You can talk to me. I know there are things that you’ve never dared to tell anyone; I can see it in your eyes sometimes. You can trust me.”

“It isn’t about trust,” I snap, jerking away from him and in his surprise, he releases me. I tumble to my butt on the dock and pull my legs up to my chest as I stare out into the darkness, trying not to think of all the things he wants to know. “If you knew… you’d never look at me the same way again.”

He growls. “Nothing you could tell me would change the way I feel about you.”

“But you would still look at me differently,” I reply, melancholy filling my voice. “Besides, I don’t know that I can even force the words out of my mouth. Saying what he did to me… it makes it even more real when I just want to move on with my life.”

“That doesn’t sound like a healthy way to handle things.”

I shrug, glancing back at him. “Maybe not but it’s working for me.”

“Em,” he starts, clearly ready to argue with me some more and I shoot him a look over my shoulder.