Page 60 of Willow Vale

There was only the sound of my heart pounding in my ears and the muffled sound of the live music against the walls.

And Travis.

He didn’t speak as he leaned against the door, but his entire body was screaming that he wasn’t happy. His eyes were blazing with an intensity I started to recognize since the night we shared our first kiss in years. One of frustration and want.

I swallowed. “I need to get back. I wasn’t done clearing the tables.”

“That didn’t seem like something you were worried about while you were dancing with Finn.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Is that why you dragged me in here? Because I was dancing with your brother? In my defense, I told him I was working, and he wasn’t exactly taking no for an answer. Take it up with him.”

I didn’t care that it was low that I was using Finn as my scapegoat. He knew exactly what he was doing when he asked me to dance; he said as much. Given the way Travis’s body was tensing up at the mention of Finn, I’d say hisbrother was going to have a talk with him too. “You can take it out of my paycheck if you want.”

He scoffed. “You think I have a problem with you dancing after working nearly eight hours straight?” He pushed off the door and strode my way. I backed up, not trusting either of us if we touched right now. Mainly because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop myself from touching him if it came down to it.

“Yes? Otherwise, I’m not sure why you’re so upset.”

He kept walking and I kept backing up until the backs of my thighs hit the edge of the desk. He stopped and crossed his arms. “Try again.”

I frowned and then another thought occurred to me. I let an incredulous laugh escape. “You’re seriously jealous that I danced with Finn of all people? Travis, he’s like a brother to me.”

“Believe me, Delilah, I’m not jealous. I know exactly where I stand with you and where this is headed.”

I blinked. “You do?”

Travis ran a hand through his hair. “Clearly I’ve been doing something wrong if I haven’t been able to convey that message.” I watched him with bated breath until he finally shortened the distance between us. I gasped as he walked right into my space, pinning me against the desk as his hands splayed across the rich wood on either side of my hips. “Tell me what I have to do to make you see what we have here. Do I have to get on my knees and crawl?” he whispered into my ear, making me shudder. “If you think I’m above begging, you haven’t been listening.”

“I didn’t think you’d be jealous,” I said as I slid my hands up his chest, losing the fight of not touching him before it had even begun. “It looks good on you.”

His hand cupped my face, tilting it up. “I’m not, darlin’.Because while you may dance with another man and smile at him the way you did out there, he’ll never earn your attention for longer than a few seconds. You want to know why?” He leaned in and kissed the spot behind my ear, sending goose bumps along my body. “Because your eyes are on me the entire time even when you think I’m not paying attention.”

My mouth dropped open. Travis grinned, tilting his head to one side as he watched the flush spread across my face.

“That’s—”

“The truth. I know it is because it’s the same reason I can’t get any work done when I’m behind the bar or on the ranch. You distract me too much. Day in and day out.”

I frowned. “If I’m such a distraction…why keep me around then?”

Travis’s eyes were a hypnotizing blue as he stared me down. He shook his head with a sigh. “You’re a distraction I didn’t need but have always wanted. I can’t stop thinking about you, Delilah. You consume every inch of me. And you don’t even know it. Maybe that scares you, but you need to know I’m not going to hide how I feel about you. I won’t push you to try for more than you’re willing to give me, but know I’ll take anything I can get. You just have to tell me and I’m there.”

My heart stopped beating.

Or maybe time slowed.

All I knew was that this man cared for me. More than I probably deserved. I wanted him to know that I’d always cared for him too. That I was falling for him all over again and it was the scariest thing I’d ever done since stepping up to be River’s guardian. The truth was, maybe I never stopped loving Travis. Four years did nothing to erase the number he did on me. He said I distracted him, but he’d ruled my every breath since day one. He owned the very beat of my heart.

“Travis.” I breathed his name, a plea for what I wasn’t sure. Only that I wanted him. I needed him.

“Tell me what I have to do,” he murmured, brushing his lips against mine but not quite kissing me. A slow teasing caress. “What do you want right now?”

“What I want...” My trembling hands reached up and framed his face, feeling the scrape of his stubble against my palms. He held perfectly still, though his chest rose and fell faster with every passing second. Every breath we shared. “I want to be with you. So badly that it’s terrifying. I’ve never felt this way for anyone in my life, Travis. You want the truth?”

He nodded.

A lump formed in my throat, but I forced the words out. Needing him to know the truth and everything that entailed. “I’ve been so lost these past few years, and sometimes I don’t know if I’m enough for River, let aloneyou. After everything we’ve been through, you’re still so kind to me, you treat me and River with so much care I don’t know what to do with it because I’ve never had that before.Never.I’ve never had anyone choose me simply because they could. And you choosing me…I don’t know how to accept it. It’s like something in me broke when I was a kid because even the sight of affection and lovescaresme. Only now I’m scared because I want to be enough for you, and I don’t know if I can be.”

Travis’s eyes were pained as he listened to my confession.

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