Page 24 of Willow Vale

Travis watched me the whole time, his chest rising and falling faster with every button, every inch of skin I revealed to him. Before I could reach the last button below my waist, he was kissing me again. His hand sank into my hair, and he pulled me to him until we were chest to chest. Until I was straddling him, and we moved together, desperately trying to get closer. A push and pull we couldn’t resist.

He let out a sound I’d never heard him make as we became a mess of hurried kisses and hot breaths. I felt him hard between my thighs and every touch burned my skinwhere his hands roamed my body. I never wanted this feeling to end.

When we pulled away, he panted. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I am.”

We both laughed breathlessly before Travis’s smile slowly dropped and his eyes seemed to go molten. Then he slowly lowered me onto the blankets. Making sure my head was on one of the pillows before he leaned back on his heels and took me in. Admired me. It made me want to hide. It made me want him more than I thought I could.

And that was when I realized, what I felt for Travis wasn’t a crush or something as simple as ‘liking’ him.

Ilovedhim.

And it scared me.

When we were done, lying on the blankets and looking up at the stars while his hand played with the strands of my hair, all I could before I drifted off to sleep was hope this feeling would last forever.

CHAPTER 11

Lila

The first fewhours of my first official shift went by relatively smoothly I’d say.

Before we opened the bar, Desi gave me pointers on a few drinks I wasn’t entirely comfortable making yet. Once I felt more confident with that, we moved on to restocking the fridge, stowing clean glasses away, and flipping the chairs atop the tables down. In between wrapping the silverware in napkins, I told her about driving up to the ranch and practically reuniting with half of the Adlers in one go. Then I told her about running into Travis.

“Hold on a second. You mean to tell me that you guys finally—finally—talked?” Desi stopped what she was doing, holding the chair mid-air before she could place it down. Her bright red hair was tied in a messy bun with wisps framing her face.

“That’s what I said.” I nodded.

“You patched things up and now you’re…friends?”

“Yeah? Did I not just say all of that a second ago?” I asked with an arched brow as I placed the wrapped silverware in the bin.

Desi finally set the chair down and slumped into it. “And he said he wanted to be friends?”

“Well…yeah?” I didn’t understand why she was confused by that.

Desi shakes her head at me, “And you’re both okay with that?”

“I’m starting to wonder ifyou’reokay.” I frowned. “I thought you’d be happy about this. What’s wrong with being friends?”

“Nothing,” Desi practically whined like a little kid. “I’m sure you’ll both figure it out…as friends.”

That last part was a mumble, but I heard it loud and clear. I sighed. “Please don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Desi feigned innocence, standing up to carry the bin now full of perfectly wrapped silverware.

“You know what. You know nothing good will come of me and Travis trying anything more. We tried that once and it didn’t end well.”Because I ran.“And besides, he’s my boss now. It would just complicate things, and we’re both too busy for complicated right now.”

Desi’s shoulders slumped. “I hate it when you talk sense even when I think you’re wrong.”

I chuckled, hauling my own bin and following her behind the bar to slide them under the counter. I wrapped my arms around her and she returned the hug. When I pulled away, I said, “Enough about that. Tell me something good now.”

Desi’s lips quirked up, but I could tell she was trying to hide it.

“What’s that look?”

“Well, I might have met someone,” she admitted.

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