Collide (Collide #1)(36)

Effectively ignoring Olivia's statement, Emily turned her head in the opposite direction to view the waves in the distance. Soaking in the warm sun, she concentrated on the voice of Bob Marley in the background, singing about how he shot the sheriff.

Over the next few hours, Gavin's gaze would travel to Emily and then back to Dillon, battling an internal war. He positioned himself perfectly at the table to maintain an unobstructed view of her face from across the pool while trying to focus on a conversation with his friends. However, his mind continually strayed back to the thought of her soft hand against his lips when he had kissed it a few days before. His eyes burned with adoration as she laughed with Olivia; her smile was like an addictive drug to him; and her laugh sounded celestial in his ears. Although they each stole furtive glances at one another throughout the day, Gavin admired her from afar, not wanting to make the situation anymore awkward than it was.

As night fell, the small crowd jumped from a sudden booming sound coming from the front of the home. Lighting off a few fireworks before making his way to the backyard was Trevor's way of announcing his arrival. Beaming a smile with blonde hair spilling over his forehead, he strolled in, barking out his signature line, "I'm here. Let the party begin!"

Olivia's girlfriend, Tina, showed up shortly after. Olivia hopped up, squealing, and gave her a kiss, letting each of the men know that she was hers. Chris ignored Olivia as he eyed the beautiful redhead. Olivia smacked him on his arm as she walked away.

Strolling over to Emily with Tina by her side, Olivia announced, "Tina, this is my best friend, Emily."

"Hey, it's good to meet you." Tina smiled. "I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to put a face with the name."

Emily shook the hand Tina extended to her. "You, too. You made your way out here without getting lost, I see. Olivia was afraid you wouldn't be able to find the place."

Tina leaned in and kissed Olivia on her cheek. "Sweetie, you were worried about me?"

Olivia blushed crimson. "Of course I was."

The two women walked away and made themselves comfortable on a lounge chair.

Several whiskies on the rocks later, Dillon approached Emily. He let out a sigh and gently pulled her against him. "Babe, I'm sorry about earlier. I was an *. Can you forgive me?" he asked softly.

Emily searched his eyes, trying to understand the sudden change in him. "You have me so confused. You never acted like this when I was in Colorado, Dillon."

"I know, Em," he whispered, reaching for her hand. He drew it to his mouth and held it against his lips. "I just love you so f*cking much. I'm afraid of losing you to someone else, that's all."

"I'm not going anywhere. I love you more than you realize, Dillon. I trusted everything in me to come out here to be with you. That by itself should say enough."

Placing his hand on the nape of her neck, he drew her face closer to his. "You're right," he admitted, his voice lower still. He leaned in to kiss her lips, and she accepted without a second thought as they stole a few extra moments to reconcile.

Dillon pulled back slowly and stroked his fingers through her hair. "I'll ease up, I promise."

Emily cast a faint smile, hoping that what he said would prove to be true. Dillon playfully smacked her on the ass, gave her another kiss, and let her know that he was going to play a game of pool with Chris and Joe. She watched as he disappeared into the house.

Emily strolled over to join Olivia and Tina. They were snuggling at the table, overly excited to be around one another. It was then that Gavin tossed a deck of cards onto the table in front of Emily.