Reckless Hearts (Oak Harbor #2)(43)

There’s a pause, then a shaking breath. “Will, please—”

“No.”

I hang up and have to drop my phone to keep from hurling it clear across the room.

I thought I could switch off. Just walk away and be done, but here I am, getting wound up in fury all over again.

Fuck.

If Delilah were here, it would be different. She makes me forget it all. One touch, one kiss, and it’s like I’m a new man. The right kind of man, one who would never have fallen for all the bullshit fake lies I left behind in New York.

The man I want to be.

I’ve tried to move on, but how long can I keep the past buried? How long will this new beginning last until the girl on the end of those voicemails either gives up her fight—or it all comes undone?





Fifteen.


Delilah



The afternoon flies by, even with me checking my watch every five minutes, counting down to seeing Will again. I feel like I’m floating three feet off the ground, wrapped up in a delicious afterglow that radiates through my entire body.

“Not you too!” Lottie wails, greeting me on my front step. I only dropped home to grab some clothes—and my toothbrush—before heading back to Will’s, but now she’s gazing at me forlornly over the stroller like I just killed a puppy or something.

“Me too what?” I ask, beckoning her inside. She hitches Kit in her arms and follows as I dash to stuff a change of underwear into my weekender bag.

“You’re in love. It’s written all over your face.”

I can’t deny it, but I can’t say the words out loud just yet either. “I’m in lust,” I say instead, grinning. “I spent the night with Will.”

“And?” Lottie pulls up a stool at my counter, eyes wide.

“And, wow,” I tell her, pausing my whirlwind of activity. I feel it again, that delicious shiver in my bloodstream, the hot pulse just remembering everything that happened. “Seriously, I have no words. He was . . . magnificent.”

“I hate you,” Lottie groans. “No, I love you, and I’m happy for you, I just hate you, too. You want to know how I spent last night? Fighting this guy to go down to sleep, then up every two hours because he’s teething and needs me there to sing to him before he’ll stop screaming.”

“I’m sorry.” I lean in and kiss them both on the cheek in turn. “Hang in there, your prince will come!”

“I’d settle for a frog right about now,” Lottie remarks, then smiles again. “But this is awesome, I can’t believe it. Does this mean you’re actually going to make a go of it with him? Think before you answer,” she demands, “because I’ll slap you if you walk away from wow like it doesn’t mean anything, when some of us are stuck with ow or just plain ugh.”

“I’m not walking away,” I reassure her. “I had a minor freak-out this morning, but we’re past that. It’s all good.”

Lottie lets out a sigh of relief. “Phew. I was worried there for a minute. I’ve got a mean left hook.”

I laugh. “No catfight today.” I look over at Kit. “Wait, did we have plans to hang out? I’m sorry, I forgot!”

“No plans,” Lottie says. “I just saw your car. And I talked to Eva this morning: she’s coming to visit!”

“She is?” I brighten. “That’s awesome!”

“Just a few days, but she’s been missing us. And it’s perfect timing, because now she gets to meet Will.” Lottie smiles meaningfully.

“Maybe,” I laugh. “But we should definitely plan a girls’ night, just the three of us. I can’t wait.”

I grab the last of my stuff, then walk Lottie and Kit out. “Let me know when Eva gets in,” I tell her.

She makes a face. “Does this mean you’re disappearing into your dirty sex haze for the rest of the week?”

“Here’s hoping,” I wink, and she laughs.

“Have fun. And stay safe,” she adds, buckling Kit into his stroller. “You never know when that one moment of passion is going to wind up teething at three in the morning!”



I drive back over to Will’s, thinking about Lottie. I’ve always been in awe of the way she took to motherhood: putting college and everything else on hold after she found out she was pregnant at just seventeen. She loves Kit more than anything, and always puts him first, but I can tell, it’s been hard these past few years watching her sister and me go off and have wild adventures while she’s right here at home. Not for the first time, I wonder what the story is about Kit’s father; she’s never breathed a word to anyone, not even his name. I can only hope she finds a guy who deserves them both soon, and gives her the passion and love I know she has ready to share.

It makes me feel even luckier as I turn off the highway and head up the now-familiar dirt track to Will’s place. Despite all my efforts to keep him at arm’s length and not let myself feel anything real, he didn’t back down. He just waited, being so damn irresistible and sweet and sexy that I had no choice but to realize the chance of a lifetime is standing right in front of me.

He took that chance on me, and now I can’t wait to prove he made the right call.

When I pull up out front, I can hear the radio playing old country songs, coming from the workshop in back. I stroll around, and I’m rewarded with the sight of Will, hard at work with the doors wide open. He’s bent over, sanding a gorgeous table down, so focused I can see the care and attention to detail in every move—and the gorgeous taut bulge of his biceps, rippling with every move. He glances up and sees me, his face spreading into a smile that warms me from the tips of my toes.