Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(56)

“Nobody calls you the most observant human being.” I laughed.

“Well, they should start. Because I saw the way you were with Kline at that biker bar. I saw the way Hugh lost his shit on that asshole who grabbed you and the way he looked at you. We’ve never lied to one another, so why are you starting now?”

I sighed. “I’m sorry. I just—there really is nothing going on with him, but I do wish there was. But we did share a few moments.”

I quickly told her everything. About the night at the cove, the night he slept in my room, even though nothing happened, and the way he’d run me a bath after what happened at the bar and sat there with me.

“Holy hotness,” she whispered. “What did he look like naked?”

I chuckled. “It was dark, but from what I did see—and felt—he’s everything you would imagine he is. I mean, I humped the man into oblivion, Del. It’s kind of mortifying.”

She leaned forward and hugged me. “He’s just scared because he and Travis are so close. And I guess I get it. You’re not staying, and it’s not like you’re someone he could have just a fling with.”

“Why?” I asked.

“You’re not that girl, Lila. And you have a history with him. It could fuck up everything.” She looked away, and I followed her gaze to Sloane standing in the doorway with her hands up in the air, annoyed that we hadn’t come inside.

“Shit. We’ll talk more later.”

“Del, no one can know anything ever happened, okay?”

“Girl, you know I will take it to the grave. But I want all the details this weekend when you go to that wedding. And you’re sharing a room?” She fanned her face before turning off the car.

“Well, between him avoiding me like the plague, and my vagina being set on fire, I think it’s safe to say nothing is going to happen. Just another boring day in the life of Lila James.”

“You got to grind up against a naked Hugh Reynolds in the cove. You’re the horniest virgin I’ve ever met,” she said over her laughter. “You never get to call yourself boring again.”

I pushed the door open, still laughing, and looked up to see Sloane with her brows raised.

“Are you talking shit about Veronica?” she hissed.

“Nope. We’re talking shit about you,” Del said over a fit of laughter.

And just like that, we had dinner, got questioned by Mrs. Runither, and laughed our asses off, just like we always did.

I’d gone to Del’s after we’d eaten to borrow a black backless gown for the wedding as it was a black-tie event, and I didn’t have anything to wear. Her sister loaned me some strappy black heels, and I’d been relieved that the dress fit perfectly, minus the fact that my boobs were a bit smaller than Del’s. But the low dip in the front was fine with or without tatas falling out of it.

When I made it home, I forced myself to shower, and I cringed when I saw how red and irritated it was between my legs. I reapplied the salve that Veronica had given me, and to say I was uncomfortable would be an understatement.

I barely slept a wink because Hugh hadn’t come in until well after midnight, and my mind kept wandering to Karmy and wondering if he was with her.

Or someone else.

I had no right to be jealous. We weren’t… anything. Yet I tossed and turned all night and got angrier with each passing hour.





“You’re awfully quiet,” Hugh said, as we merged onto the freeway to head toward the city.

“Am I?”

He chuckled. “Are you mad at me?”

“No. I have no right to be mad at you, do I?” I looked out the window.

“I mean, you’re the one who called me a coward. I think I should be mad.”

“But you aren’t mad, are you? Because you know it’s true.”

“I don’t believe that me thinking with my head for once in my life makes me a coward. You’re leaving, Lila. So what happens if we cross the line for the next, what—two months? That’s only eight fucking weeks. And then what? There’s this weirdness every time we see one another? Your brother fucking hates me forever? Why even go there?”

Wow. He’d really put a lot of thought into the timeline. The man rarely had relationships that lasted longer than a weekend, and now he was concerned eight weeks wasn’t enough time? This was definitely interesting, and it supported my coward theory even more.

“Wow. You act like I’m asking you to marry me. Do you put this much thought into the other women you like?”

“No. Because they aren’t you. You’re different, and you know it.”

“And so are you. That’s why it makes sense to me,” I said, watching the trees fly by as we moved down the highway.

“What makes sense to you?”

“I’ve known you most of my life, Bear. I know what a good man you are. I’m obviously very attracted to you, and I think you’re attracted to me. So, why fight it? We both know I’m leaving; there’s no secret there. I’m not looking for forever. For the first time in my life, I want to just have some fun. Why not allow ourselves to act on it? And I like the idea of you being my first.”

He stared straight ahead at the highway. “And Travis? You think he’ll just be fine with it?”