Page 156 of Major Love

“Although,” she says softly, glancing up at me as I hold her close. “Even if I know that I want to be here, they did send me an airplane ticket.”

My breathing pauses but I nod my head, suddenly understanding where she’s going with this.

“You want to check out the bar in Nashville one last time, before you make your decision,” I conclude, not loving the idea of her going back there but knowing that it makes sense for her to do it.

“I’ve already made my decision,” she reassures me gently, “and I’m going to turn it down. But because they purchased the ticket, to be polite I should head there and do it in person.”

I glance back up toward the trees, slowly scrubbing my stubble as I calm my breathing.

She’s right – of course she’s right – but I already know that I’m going to miss her like crazy.

I already do, and she’s still wrapped up in my goddamn arms.

“How long are you going to be gone?” I ask, slipping my rough fingers up the back of her bra.

“I’ll leave tomorrow and be back the day after that, so that I can get everything perfect for when Case arrives home.” And she gives me a teasing smile as she whispers softly, “Just one day.”

“Okay,” I rumble quietly. “Or I can come with you, if you want.”

“I need to do this on my own,” she says huskily.

Yeah, but it was worth a shot.

“Fine,” I murmur, and she laughs sweetly as I lean down to kiss her, my mouth moving roughly over hers because now we don’t have tomorrow.

I groan as she parts her lips and lets me gently lick her tongue with mine, her hands squeezing every muscle she can reach as I tug the string at the back of her top.

She gasps as it hits the water and then I toss it onto the ledge before resettling my palms around her waist. And then she’s arching her back over the side of the hot-tub as I slowly kiss my way down her neck.

I know that Sunday is certain that she wants to stay in Phoenix Falls, but I’m not going to leave a single doubt in her mind that this is the place she needs to be.

And if she’s heading to Nashville tomorrow, I’ve got all night to stake my claim.

She tugs harder at my hair, panting quickly as I reach her breasts and, after a long heated moment, I fucking devour her.

Chapter 38

Sunday

I grip my hands tighter around the wheel of Casey’s truck, the blacktop ahead of me stretching far and wide as I head toward the outskirts of town. And I bite my teeth into my lower lip, trying not to think of what Jason’s reaction will be when he finally realises that I left the town square without saying bye.

Even though I’m only going to be spending one day in Nashville, and Jason told me that he would drive me to the airport this afternoon, I just couldn’t face the thought of sayinganothergoodbye.

We’ve done it before and it was freaking heartbreaking, so it’s not something that I ever want us to do again.

So when all of his crew pulled up in the town square this morning, I’d inconspicuously pulled Beckett to the side and asked for a spare sheet of paper and a pen. And even though he narrowed his eyes on me with his suspicion through the roof, he rummaged around in the team’s gear until he found a small ruled notepad and a pen.

And as soon as Jason told me that he’d be back in thirty, I leaned over the hood of his truck and scribbled out a note.

I’ve always hated goodbyes.

Keep the bed warm for me.

Sunday x

Then I applied sparkly pink gloss to my lips and pressed a kiss to the paper before tucking it under Jason’s windscreen wiper.

And then I climbed up into the driver’s side of my brother’s truck, strapped myself in, and hauled ass out of the lot.

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