Worth It (Forbidden Men #6)(47)

Glancing at me, Noel hitched his chin to the other end of the bar. “I got these two. You can get that group down there.”

For a heartbeat, I couldn’t move away from City. She was right there, the one person who owned my soul.

But then reality crashed around me. She didn’t know me; I was a complete stranger to her. And I’d promised myself I’d stay away. Forcing my ass into gear, I gave Noel a single nod and turned away from her to take the order of the three guys at the other end of the bar.





I hummed Colbie Caillat’s “Falling for You” under my breath as I skipped through the trees and dodged mushy, marshy-looking spots. I knew the path well by now. I’d traveled it every day for the past two weeks.

Knox and I no longer met by “our” tree. Now we went to “our” dock at the strip pit. Sometimes we swam, sometimes we didn’t, but every time we ended up kissing. I’d become well and truly addicted to kissing. I swear, my mouth could just live against Knox’s. I hated it every time we had to pull apart and go home. But he had an evening job at a local dog food factory, and always had to leave to get ready for that, and I...well, I didn’t want to risk causing any suspicion from my family by staying away too long, even though no one had noticed my lengthy afternoon walks in the woods yet.

Today, I dared more than usual. After sneaking a basket into the kitchen, I’d packed us an afternoon snack. From all our conversations, I knew Knox loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, nacho chips, and apples the best, so I crammed them inside along with two bottles of water and plates and napkins.

When I heard my mother’s voice nearing the kitchen, I dashed out the back door and streaked across the yard to the trees, panting by the time I reached the first one. After ducking behind it, I waited thirty seconds before peeking around the trunk to make sure no one had come outside to look for me. The coast looked clear, but I was still wary, so I dodged from here to there for a while until I felt secure enough to realize no one was following me. Once I relaxed, the excitement of getting to see Knox again rose.

I was unable to stop grinning and actually murmur some of the lyrics aloud by the time I reached the pit.

“I’ve been spending all my time just thinking about you,” I crooned, only to give a happy squeal when I realized I was the first to arrive. “Yes!” I had some time to set up my surprise for him.

I’d lacked the forethought to grab a picnic blanket, which made me sigh in disappointment because I wanted everything to be perfect. But then I told myself Knox probably wouldn’t even notice. There were a lot of details he skipped over, like towels, and combs, and prissy things my mother would insist upon. That was one of the very reasons I was so crazy about him. He didn’t prioritize image before me.

A slight breeze tried to spoil my plans and blow away my plates and napkins, but the apples proved to be the perfect paperweights and kept them in place. I saved the sandwiches in their plastic baggies so no dirt or bugs could blow onto them as I placed them next to the apples. I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait because we couldn’t exactly give each other reliable schedules.

The other day, he’d had to wait three hours on me before I could get away from my mother and one of her lectures. Then Max had cornered me afterward, waylaying me more and trying to console me or something for the way Mother had spoken to me. I was almost in tears by the time I reached the dock, thinking I’d missed him. But there he lay on his back, feet crossed at the ankles and nearly asleep as he dried himself in the sun from taking a dip in the pit.

Relief racing through me, I’d hurried up the ramp to reach the dock, only to slow to a stop and just relish the sight of him in wet swimming trunks and nothing else.

“I never knew Sleeping Beauty was a guy before,” I finally said.

He hadn’t opened his eyes but a smile crept across his face. “Why do I have a feeling I’m about to be kissed to see if that wakes me up?”

“Probably because you are.” Kneeling beside him, I grinned until I leaned down and lightly pressed my mouth to his. He groaned and threaded his fingers through my hair, kissing me back. By the time I pulled away, his eyes were open and gleaming a golden sparkling brown, and his lips were stretched wide with pleasure.

“I guess this is proof,” he’d murmured. “You’re definitely my Princess Charming.”

Sighing over the memory, I sat on the dock next to our waiting picnic and hugged my knees as I stared at the water of the pit. The breeze fluttered tendrils of red hair into my face and the dock swayed lazily under me while the sun soaked lethargic warmth into my bones.

Even just waiting on Knox was more enjoyable than anything else on earth. Setting my chin on my upraised knees, I noticed a rock sitting on the edge of the dock.

With a slight frown, I studied it further. It was a fairly large rock that couldn’t have been carried in by the wind. Something had to have placed it there, and I’m pretty sure it hadn’t been around the day before.

I shied backward, wondering who’d been on my dock. If one of my brothers had been here recently, did that mean they could come back today? Right now? Maybe I should put away one of the plates; if they caught me here, they wouldn’t realize I was expecting company. But as soon as I reached for Knox’s plate, I noticed a small corner of white paper fluttering under the rock’s weight.