Page 23 of Next to You

“Oh god. I might die of embarrassment.”

“Don’t. Please. I?—”

She got up and darted into the house, leaving her mug on the table between us.

I heard footsteps, followed by the slam of the bathroom door.

Shit.

I slid my mug next to hers on the table and ran into the cabin. “Lucy!”

“Forget I said anything.” Her voice was muffled behind the heavy oak door.

“I don’t want to forget it.” I shouted, leaning my forehead against the door and pressing a palm against it. “I want to hear more. I want to know everything you’re feeling because I feel it, too. But I’m feeling it specifically aboutyou, and I don’t want to—I’d say I didn’t want to chase you away, but there’s nowhere to go. That’s the only reason why I hesitated.”

The silence between us was deafening until I heard the snick of the lock disengaging, followed by the soft squeak of the door as she opened it. My breath caught in my throat, and I stepped back, hoping she would forgive me.

She stood there, studying my face as she swept a hand beneath her pretty brown eyes to brush her tears away.

“Really?” she asked. Her lower lip trembled, and my heart cracked open.

“Yeah.” The possessive desperation in my voice shocked me. I needed her to understand where I was coming from.

“Good. I mean, I believe you. It makes sense. Maybe we should start trusting our instincts with each other.”

I stepped closer, placing a hand on the doorframe above her head so I could lean in. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to.”

A tremulous smile unfurled across her mouth as her eyes met mine. “I have this horrible habit of saying too much, too soon. I can hardly blame you for needing a second to process it.”

“No. It’s not horrible. I love it. I’m done with games, too. I want to be real with you.”

She bit her lip. “I would like that. I’m always holding something back and tired of it, Spencer. It’s exhausting.”

“Don’t hold back with me. Please.”

“Okay…” she breathed, her hand went to my chest, and I sucked in a sharp breath as goosebumps spiraled outward from the heat of her touch. I lowered my face to hers until our mouths were mere inches apart. The prolonged anticipation was almost too much for me. I sucked in a breath, wishing I knew why I was hesitating.

Time stopped whenever I was next to her. It always had.

Her head tilted to the side as she watched me, worrying that tempting lower lip between her teeth. Then her eyes drifted closed, she relaxed, and her lips parted. She was so small I could tuck her beneath my chin, hold her close, keep her warm, kiss those gorgeous lips, and never let her go…

“No,” I blurted, coming to a decision I wasn’t even aware I was making. “I shouldn’t kiss you right now. It wouldn’t be right.”

“It wouldn’t?” Her eyes flew open, eyebrows drawing down in confusion.

“We’re in an extreme situation. We can’t leave. I won’t take advantage of you.”

“That’s gentlemanly.” She removed her hand from my chest, reaching up to absentmindedly twirl a lock of hair around her finger. I knew it was a habit of hers; I'd seen her do it so many times back when we were in school together, and I’d always thought it was cute, damn it. I needed her to quit being so fucking cute.

“Yeah, that’s me. A gentleman.” I huffed a bitter laugh. I must be out of my mind. All the signals pointed to yes. She all but told me to kiss her.

Trust your instincts.

I couldn’t take advantage of this situation. Stuck here. Nowhere to go. Damn it.

I was my father’s son.

He raised me and my brothers to protect and respect women.

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