The Forever Girl (Wildstone, #6)(81)

“Well, that’s because you like morning sex.”

He grinned. “I do. But to be fair, I like it at any time of the day or night. Not just mornings.”

She tried to pull free. “You aren’t listening to me,” she said.

“I always listen,” he assured her. “I just don’t always agree. You’re a lot of things, Maze, all of them pretty fucking amazing, making you who you are. I adore every part of you, even the parts that scare me just a little bit.” He smiled again when she rolled her eyes. “Look, be impulsive. Be whoever you want to be. Just let me be there at your side while you’re doing it.”

“Like . . . a couple?”

“Yes, just like that. I want us to be closer.” He paused. “And since you haven’t run off screaming, maybe you want that too.” He held out a hand. “Come with me?”

“Where?”

“Does it matter?”

She thought about that. “A little, but only because you’re naked.”

With a laugh, he tossed her some clothes and pulled his on as well. They tiptoed through the still-quiet house and down the wild grass hill to the water. He had her hand in his and a blanket tucked under his other arm as the sky was making the slow but dazzling shift from midnight black to a kaleidoscope of purples and blues. Nothing stirred except the occasional splash of a fish breaking the glass surface of the lake.

And there in the peaceful quiet of the predawn, alone with Walker and catching the sunrise, Maze let herself believe it could all be real.





Chapter 22


Walker’s man of honor to-do list:

—Send a thank-you note to drunk Elvis.

That long-ago summer spent out here on the lake had brought Walker a happiness he’d never experienced before. It’d taken him years and a trip back here this week to make him realize something: It wasn’t the place that made him happy.

It was the people in it.

Still a little off-balance from that newfound knowledge, he held Maze’s hand as they walked to the hidden cove. The sky had shifted to a pale purple above the still water, the stars quickly fading away. They sat, their backs to a huge rock, wrapped up in a blanket against the predawn chill, and watched the sun come up over the rolling hills.

“I used to come out here that summer,” he said. “Watched the sunrise, just like this.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Sometimes Michael came with me. We liked the quiet. When we’d get back, Caitlin would be making all of us a huge breakfast, even back then.”

Maze laughed. “Yeah, she’d pretend we ran a restaurant. God, she was so bossy. She’d put us all to work, just so she could be in charge.”

“She used to make us leave her reviews,” he said. “Remember?”

“Yeah, because that’s the summer I discovered my love of all things baked. Her cinnamon rolls still highlight my fantasies.”

“Your yellow bikini highlighted my fantasies. Still does.” She laughed, as he’d intended. “I liked playing restaurant with you.”

She met his gaze. “You used to want to own one.”

“With you guys, yeah,” he said fondly. He still believed it’d be the perfect life and thought about Boomer selling the Whiskey River. “It’d be nice to be all together again.”

Looking torn between wanting exactly that and being scared of it at the same time, she nodded.

Not wanting her to get bogged down by her fears of letting love into her life, he playfully tugged on a loose strand of her hair. “You know, I also have a lot of fantasies of you without that yellow bikini.” This time he was prepared and was laughing as he caught her hands before she could punch him. Wrapping his arms around her, he hauled her onto his lap.

“The sun’s almost up,” she said, wriggling in a way that made his eyes cross with lust. “We are not doing it out here in broad daylight.”

“Agreed,” he said, mouth on her neck.

“You . . . do?”

She sounded so disappointed that he laughed again and nipped her jaw, working his way to her mouth. “Yes. Because we’re going to talk,” he said. “Like we’re on a date.”

“A date,” she echoed, like the concept was foreign to her.

“Is that so odd?”

“Odd, no. Backward, yes.” She smiled. “You don’t have to wine and dine me, Walk. You know I’m a sure thing.”

“Maze.” He took a beat because he needed to find the words to make her believe him. “You’re important to me.”

“Uh-oh.” She craned her neck to meet his gaze. “That’s your very serious voice.”

“Because I am very serious. You know how we both grew up. It was shit. It might have defined our childhoods, but I won’t let it define my adult life. We’re more than our circumstances. We deserve hopes and dreams and love like everyone else.”

She swallowed hard but didn’t take her eyes off his. “Actually, I don’t.”

“What?”

“I don’t know how you grew up. You never discussed it, not with any of us. Everyone always jokes that I’m the closemouthed one about the past, but really, it’s you.”

He could see hurt lurking in her expression and also in her voice.