Page 61 of Willow Vale

I was laying myself bare to him, showing him everything I was and taking that risk that he wouldn’t see exactly what Irene saw when she looked at me and decided I wasn’t worth her love.

I knew he couldn’t fix what was broken in me. That was something I had to do on my own terms and in my own time. I’d never voiced how truly broken I felt inside because of allthe pain my mother put me through and, in a way, I knew that if I was going to give us a chance, I had to be brave enough to face all my fears.

“You overwhelm me every time you look at me the way you are now. Because you don’t let me hide. You accept me and it scares me to think I’ll let myself get used to this feeling then one day it’ll be gone.”

“It won’t be.” He shook his head. “I wish you could understand that, but not as much as I wish you could see I don’t have to accept you because you are perfect as you are in my eyes. In my family’s eyes. We’ve always loved you, Delilah. We love River. Nothing will ever change that. We’re not going anywhere—I’mnot going anywhere. Just like I told you four years ago that I’d let you go only because you asked me to, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t ready to drop everything and be with you the moment you asked me to come back to you. I meant every word and I still do.”

His lips met mine, silencing the soft, shaky sigh that escaped me. It was a tender kiss that let him pour all of his sincerity, his protection, his care into me. I wrapped my arms around his waist, dragging my hands up the back of his shirt. His teeth nipped my bottom lip, and I deepened the kiss. Letting our tongues tangle together as we took our time, savoring the moment. His hand slipped into my hair and tugged, drawing out a low sound of pleasure from the back of my throat.

Travis kissed away a tear that rolled down my cheek, whispering words that were meant just for me.

He pressed his body into mine, barely leaving any space between us. I gasped as I felt him between my legs, and they came up to wrap around his waist. Starting a slow, gentle kindling from deep inside me that gradually burned hotter with every caress. Our slow kisses turned rougher with ashared need to be as close to each other as possible. If I broke away for a fraction of an inch, he was closing it without faltering. His hands cupped my cheeks, tipping my head up and consuming my every breath as I lost myself in him.

His arms wrapped around my back, gently easing me down until I was lying on his desk. The sound of paperwork sliding off the edge of the desk barely registered as his body pressed into mine. My legs cradled his hips while his hands slipped beneath my shirt, making me gasp at how cold they were.

“Sorry,” he breathed, his thumbs rubbing circles above the waistband of my jeans.

“Liar.” I grinned as I stared up at him. He had called me beautiful so many times before, but he was the breathtaking one. Eyes dark with need, lips swollen from all our kissing, out of breath as if he’d been running for miles.

I raked my fingers through his hair, smiling at the way he seemed to melt into my touch.

“We should probably...”

“Yeah.” He said begrudgingly. “I should have stolen Desi’s key. There’s no telling when she’ll barge in here.”

I laughed as he kissed me one more time before pulling me up. I watched him, utterly mesmerized at the way he worked to straighten my shirt before tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. When he noticed I was watching him, Travis ran the back of his fingers across my cheek. Catching me off guard when he said, “You’re what I want. You’ve always been what I wanted. I’ll prove it to you every day until you start believing it. Maybe then, you’ll realize that you are worth it. More than worth it. You’re everything.”

By the timewe made it out of his office, the band had taken a break, and Jake was hurrying over to deliver a large pizza Manny must have made for them. I avoided looking at Desi and Finn who were hunched together at the bar, talking over their drinks and casting us curious glances. Wren was nowhere in sight, so I assumed she was off getting ready for her part in the rodeo.

The sound of a hand connecting with the back of a head made me pause long enough to hear Finn release a groan. Travis had a grin on his face as he walked past him.

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m going to see if Manny needs anything, and I’ll come back out to let you take off for the night,” Travis said, ignoring the middle finger his brother was giving him behind his back.

“I’ll be here,” I said as his fingers briefly touched mine in passing. I watched him go with a smile before turning around to find eyes on me. Desi was barely containing her excitement and about a dozen questions flashed in her green eyes while Finn looked a little smug. Jake quirked a brow but thankfully didn’t say anything to me. Even Saul, sitting in his usual stool, was giving me a thumbs up. His buddies raised their bottles my way and I knew I had to get away from them before I combusted. I snatched up the rag from under the counter and over my shoulder, I said, “Not a word.”

They all laughed.

I walked away from the bar with a smile I couldn’t contain.

In my attempt to avoid Desi and Finn for the remainder of my shift, I’d kept busy on the floor. Cleaning up messes and collecting empty glasses from tables. I wiped down a few that were empty before more patrons came in and took them too. A few people who headed out waved goodbye with happysmiles and I found myself doing the same. I never thought I’d be so content working at a bar of all places, but there I was.

It made me think about what I wanted for my life. If I applied for college, would I be able to do it? If I had a lot of work to do for each class, I had to consider whether I could handle it. Not only for me but for River too. If I decided I couldn’t do it, would I work in The Pint long term? Summer break would be over before I knew it and I’d have to start getting River ready for kindergarten.

I had so many thoughts racing through my mind. I’d started to think of looking into schools for River when I caught movement by the wide windows overlooking the street.

My heart sank as a couple walked by. The woman was short, wearing a red peacoat that covered her thin figure. The man, who looked to be in his fifties, had his arm thrown over her shoulders. They were talking as they walked past the window and headed for the door.

“Lila? You forgot your apron. Hey, are you okay?” I heard Desi ask as she came up to me, but I couldn’t stop staring as the door was yanked open and the couple walked into the bar.

Even though I didn’t recognize her right away, I recognized that peacoat. It wasn’t as vibrant as it had been years ago, but it was the exact same coat she always wore. The one I’d gifted her when I’d been fifteen after saving up money all year to afford a Christmas present. It was the only thing she bothered keeping without trying to sell for money to buy more booze.

The woman and man turn to head for one of the booths only for her to stop abruptly when her glassy brown eyes met mine. Familiar, and yet…not at all.

Because there was no way this was my mother.

No, this was a stranger.

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