A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain #1)(36)

My new friend drops her eyes to her wine cup. “Well, the purchase valuation is as steamy as this hot tub.”

“So they’re overpaying?” I shrug. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Maybe the Sharpes love it here. They see a good thing, and they want to keep it. They love it so much they don’t want to let it slip through their fingers. A concept that’s tricky for you, I understand. But some of us get it.”

Reed gives me another brown-eyed stare, which I’m forced to return.

And now I want to slap myself. Spending time in his presence requires a difficult balance. The trick is remembering why I’m angry—but also holding that anger in.

Oops.

Nobody says anything for a long moment. But then Sarah rises from the water. “You know, it really is hot in here. Maybe I should move along.”

“Yeah,” Raven agrees, grabbing for her towel.

“Same,” Sheila and Halley say simultaneously. They both stand up, too.

They are all gone in under sixty seconds.

I hate my friends.

Reed doesn’t budge, of course. “We sure know how to clear a room,” he says.

“You make me insane.” I want to add, please get on the next flight.

“That’s a good thing,” he says.

“What?” I shriek. “Because you live to torture me?”

“No,” he says in a low voice. “Because you still care. It’s still alive.”

“What is?” I demand. “My anger?”

“Your fire, Ava.” He props an elbow on the tub’s edge and faces me. “Your spark. You didn’t leave our mess behind by becoming dead inside. You didn’t let your heart turn to stone like I did.”

I blink. “You did?”

“I thought so. But now I’m not so sure.” His big brown eyes study me at close range. “Sitting here with you makes me want to feel things again.”

“Which things?” I hear myself ask. It comes out sounding coy, too.

He chuckles, and his eyes take on a dirty gleam. “There are so many fun answers to that question. Are you sure you want to know?”

“No,” I say quickly.

“All right. Then I won’t tell you.”

I feel a startling amount of disappointment. It must show on my face, because Reed chuckles again. “Honey, look. Maybe there’s a way we can remember that there were more good times than bad.”

The only sound as I hold his gaze is the water burbling against our skin. There were so many good times. That’s the problem. Are you supposed to judge someone on the one awful thing they did? Or are you supposed to creak open the rusty hinges of your heart to recall all the times he was good to you?

I’m at war with myself right now, and I don’t know how to call a ceasefire. He smiles, and suddenly I see the boy I fell in love with. His wet hair and that handsome jaw are outlined against the starry sky. And his face is so familiar that I feel like crying.

“Here’s an idea,” he says softly. He tucks a damp tendril of my hair behind my ear. “Maybe we could split a pizza after class.”

My mouth flops open at the boldness of this little callback to our youth.

Then the jerk leans in and kisses my top lip so sweetly that goosebumps rise on my shoulders. He kisses my bottom lip, too.

My whole heart tips in his direction, like a boat listing dangerously on the sea. I don’t know whether to laugh, weep, or push him away.

So I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him instead.





CHAPTER 18




I HEAR THE VIEWS ARE GREAT





REED

Ava makes a frustrated groan as we come together. As if she’s torturing herself. Our lips crush and seek and slide hotly together.

Earlier today we practically set her couch on fire. That kiss was not all my idea, either. We were meant to do this.

That’s how it always felt before.

Until I fucked it all up.

Pushing that thought away, I deepen the kiss. Ava makes a helpless little moan, and the sound stirs me up, like a bear coming out of hibernation. I cup her head in both my hands and delve inside her sweet mouth.

She shivers, so I pull her closer. My hands slide freely across her wet skin, my thumb dipping into her bikini top, stroking the swell of her breast.

“Reed,” she whispers against my lips.

“I know,” I whisper back. We used to be so wild and free with each other. Effortless. After Ava, I never felt that way again. Not once.

Our next kiss is as deep as the night sky. But we’re still not close enough. I need more. I pull Ava into my lap until she’s straddling me, the way I used to do in my dorm room. The motion is so familiar, as if the last ten years never happened.

Ava pulls back from the kiss, and for a split second I think I’ve ruined it. “This is not a good idea,” she says.

“Maybe,” I agree in a rough voice. “But I don’t care. This is us. We were reckless once. And I loved every minute of it. We were young and wild, and I loved you with my whole heart. I hope you know that, even if you’re still angry.”

She exhales, her bright eyes darting away for a moment. “Stop talking now.”

“Okay. But feisty Ava is hot.”

“Shut up.”