Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(74)

“You bought my car?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I could.” He shrugged. “You shouldn’t be without a car. You shouldn’t be dealing with all of this with your father on your own. I can afford to help you out, and I wanted to do it.”

I wanted to be pissed off.

He’d gone behind my back, after all.

But instead, I felt overwhelmed with emotion. Hugh had been so good to me in so many ways, and I didn’t know how I’d ever repay him.

I nodded, but no words left my mouth, and a tear streamed down my cheek.

“Hey,” he said, getting off the bike and pushing down the kickstand before moving toward me. He used the pad of his thumb to swipe away the tear. “None of that. It’s just money. It’s not a big deal. I’m not planning to take it with me.” He smirked.

“Thank you. I will pay you back. You know that, right?”

“I don’t want you to.”

I sighed. “We can discuss it in the shower. How does that sound?”

“You want to have your way with me, huh?”

“Always,” I said, as we walked up the driveway and checked out the car. There was a set of new tires on it, and he’d clearly had it washed because it looked like a brand-new car.

We locked the door, a habit we’d started when we’d returned from the wedding, because Travis had been known at times to drop by unexpectedly, and it was a drama neither of us wanted to deal with. We were just having fun.

Probably the most fun I’d ever had in my life.

And, of course, it was a damn secret.

Del was the only one who knew what was going on. I felt horrible lying to Sloane and Rina, so I’d told them the breaking news that I’d lost the big V-card, but I’d said it was with a tourist that I’d met at the restaurant. I’d had to think quickly as Kline and Danielle had made their relationship public when I got back from the wedding. Kline had come to me all sheepish, like he’d done something wrong. But they’d been seen out by the staff, so the jig was up. I thanked him for playing along for as long as he had, and I was happy that he’d found someone he really seemed to like. I’d then had to make up a story to the girls and Travis that things had fizzled out with Kline.

Del was enjoying being in on the secret, and I knew that she would take it to her grave.

She was so happy for me, and it was nice to have someone to share it with because I was exactly where I wanted to be right now.

And I’d never felt that way before.

But the whole thing was aggravating because it didn’t need to be a secret. I shouldn’t have to lie to my friends or have Kline cover for me. Hell, it was none of Travis’s business who I spent time with. I wasn’t doing it for Travis, at this point. I was doing it for Hugh because their friendship was important to him, and Travis wouldn’t take out his anger on me; he would take it out on Hugh. I would never want to come between their friendship, no matter how stupid I thought the whole thing was. So, it really didn’t matter if no one knew what was going on. It was temporary, and I was happy. That was enough for me right now.

We’d made it to the bathroom and stripped down before we both moved under the hot spray of water. It was crazy that just a few weeks ago, I’d never had sex or showered with a man or talked about what felt good and what didn’t, and now, I did all of those things every day with Hugh.

He squeezed some shampoo into his hands and motioned for me to turn around. The man loved doing sweet things for me, and I was here for it. I loved every minute.

When we were at work, we acted like we were just friends. Well, aside from last week, when he’d bent me over his desk in his office and had his way with me after we’d locked up. Or two days ago when everyone had gone home, and we were getting ready to leave, he’d dropped to his knees behind the bar and buried his head between my thighs until I cried out his name over and over.

Life was good right now.

“You’re off today, right?” he asked against my ear.

“Yeah. I’ll come in later this afternoon to do some paperwork. I’m meeting my brother for coffee, and then I’m having lunch with the girls,” I said, turning around after he rinsed out my hair.

I reached for the soap and lathered up my hands before running them over his chest and down his stomach. His muscles rippled beneath my fingertips, and he sucked in a breath when I traced over the deep V leading down to the light trail of dark hair. He instantly hardened beneath my touch, and I loved that I affected him the way that he affected me. The water poured down on his beautiful body, and he looked like every woman’s fantasy. I wrapped my fingers around his erection, sliding my hand up and down as his eyes fell closed. Without a word, I dropped to my knees. I wasn’t nervous with Hugh. He encouraged me to take what I wanted and not to be afraid to use my voice.

Or my mouth, apparently.

He groaned as I wrapped my lips around him.

Starting my day in the shower with Hugh Reynolds was my favorite thing to check off of my Snow Day list.





I loved how quaint downtown Cottonwood Cove was. I walked, even though Hugh had gotten my car back for me. So, he’d basically paid for the deposit for my father’s rehab, along with fixing my car up, and I still couldn’t get over the fact that he’d done that.