Page 109 of Hometown Girl

The memory of her kisses raced to his mind.

“Hey.” He tried to sound more awake than he felt.

“Did I wake you?” Her tone apologized.

“No, I’m awake. Just not up.”

A quiet pause made him imagine the look on her face. He ached for the moment he could kiss her again.

“I’m sorry to call so early. I had a message from Davis Biddle on my phone this morning.”

“Oh?”

“Well, from his assistant. He has a male assistant. Is that weird?”

Drew laughed. “I don’t think so.”

“He asked if I could meet Mr.Biddle today at eight. I thought I’d call and see if you were serious about coming along.”

He’d suggested it for two reasons. One, like he’d said, he didn’t trust Biddle. And he supposed a part of him wanted to protect Beth, just in case. But two—and this was the part that grated on him—the name was familiar. Maybe seeing the man in person would rattle something loose.

“Of course. Should I meet you?”

“No,” Beth said. “I’ll come to you since he lives just down the road from there.”

And maybe that’s where the familiarity ended. Maybe he’d heard his parents or Jess talking about Davis Biddle. Maybe Davis had nothing to offer Drew’s spotty memory at all.

But there was only one way to find out.

Beth arrived at the door forty-five minutes later, coffee in hand.

“You knocked.” He stood in the doorway, taking her in.

“I felt like I should.”

She’d probably been trying to process what had happened between them. Why couldn’t they just leave it undefined? They’d kissed—was that a big deal?

His gaze fell to her lips.

Yeah, it was a big deal. Because he hadn’t stopped thinking about doing it again since she’d left yesterday afternoon.

“Can I come in?”

He laughed. “Of course. Sorry. What time did you get up?” He led her into the kitchen.

“Early.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I didn’t sleep well.”

“You too?”

She watched him. The expression on her face said nothing and everything at the same time. She wanted answers—he’d only made things more confusing with that very not-polite kiss.

But he didn’t have words for any of it. “We should probably go.”

She looked away with a quick nod and walked outside to the car, with Drew following close behind. The entire silent car ride, he tried—failed—to think of something to say. He had to find a way to tell her how he fit into Fairwind’s sordid past, but every time he looked at her, he lost his nerve.

It was stupid, but he didn’t want to lose her. In his entire life, he’d never felt for anyone the way he felt for Beth. He’d never let himself. He’d been stuck in the past since the day Jess went missing. Thick, heavy, painful memories had kept him grounded, and the longer he stayed at Fairwind, the more he realized that wasn’t going to change.

They arrived at the gates in front of the Biddle estate, and Beth waited to be buzzed through. His silence had to be killing her, yet he had no words to remedy that. Instead, he reached over and took her hand, hoping that she’d somehow understand what he couldn’t say.

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