Page 71 of Just One Kiss

“Okay?”

He nodded dumbly. “Okay.”

Later that afternoon, he fired up the rusty grill, cooked burgers and brats and they all sat on the back porch eating and admiring the view. Josh had turned Quinn’s words over in his head a thousand times and they still didn’t sit well. He didn’t want to stay away from Carly’s heart. He wanted to deserve her—to prove to all of them he’d changed.

To make right the things he’d done so wrong in the past.

Nobody said a word about what was coming the next day, but Jaden’s surgery had a way of looming like the giant elephant in every room.

After lunch, Quinn drove off to the training center with Jaden, leaving him alone with his very quiet, very focused ex.

By nightfall, Carly’s hair had fallen from her hair tie and her face had grown tired. But she’d moved from the kitchen to the bathrooms and now vacuumed the loft where Josh would sleep. She’d brought fresh sheets, which were now on the bed, and while all the window coverings were going to have to be replaced, the little cabin felt clean and livable.

Still, she showed no signs of stopping.

It had become clear at some point during the day that Carly was cleaning to work out some of her aggression, so for the most part, he stayed out of her way, turning most of his attention to the yard.

But it was late, and they had a big day tomorrow.

He called up into the loft, but her back was to him and the sound of the vacuum drowned him out. She didn’t even stir. He moved up the ladder with ease, his mind spinning back to the days and sometimes nights they’d show up here instead of the movies or down on the beach where they’d told their parents they were headed.

They’d said their first time would be the only time—they’d go back to the way things were. But that one time had set in motion something that couldn’t be taken back.

Another way he’d been a bad influence on her, to be sure. No way she would’ve ever dreamed of breaking into this place or continued having sex if it hadn’t been for him.

But their time here hadn’t always been about that. Some nights they lay in the backyard on a giant blanket, looking up at the stars and dreaming of a future together in spite of the fact that they were headed on completely different paths.

He called out to her, but she still didn’t hear him. He waved his arms so he didn’t startle her, but still—nothing. He saw headphones in her ears, so in addition to the roar of the vacuum, he was also contending with her Spotify station.

“Carly!” He reached out and tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped, gasped and clung to her chest.

Exactly what he was trying to avoid.

“Sorry—sorry.” He held up his hands in surrender as she hurried to turn off the vacuum.

“You scared me to death,” she said.

“I called your name at least six times.”

She plopped down onto the bed, clearly trying to calm her nerves. “I didn’t hear you.”

Obviously.

“I think we should call it a night,” he said.

She ran her hands over her face and sighed. “But if I stop, then I’ll have to think.”

“We could go downstairs and watch TV.”

“On my dad’s tiny old television?”

He shrugged. “It works okay.”

“I remember.”

He remembered too. He remembered her laugh when the only thing they could get on that fuzzy old set were reruns of Archie Bunker. He remembered sharing a blanket on the worn-out old couch and feeling for a moment like that was the best possible future he could imagine for them.

Here, it was quiet and peaceful. Nobody was fighting or crying or screaming at him. This old cabin was one of the few places in the world where Josh felt relaxed.

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