Page 69 of Every Heartbeat After

ChapterTwenty-Seven

Tess

I’ve only beento the Ortizes’ house a handful of times, but as I crane my neck to peer up at the teaberry-pink siding through my window, the memories are as clear as day. I see my dad and Alex on an expansive back patio, decorated with tiki torches and several large lounge chairs, perfect for entertaining a crowd. The smell of freshly charred shrimp and bell peppers wafts off the grill. Mom and Jenna are enjoying tequila sunrises at the kitchen island, casting cursory glances my way while I work to entertain a toddling Mara.

Our tires rasp over the sand-covered driveway. Then we’re opening our doors and stepping into an evening that’s thick with static. My hair grows wilder by the second. A storm is forming in the distance, an ominous darkness on the horizon that could be mistaken for nighttime if you weren’t observant enough to note its purple hue. We’ll get drenched in the next hour or so.

Kit strides around the front of his rental car, meeting me before I’ve even had a chance to shut my door. He does it for me, then leaves his hand braced on the roof of the car. His gaze travels the length of me, taking in a sundress whose color reminds me of the tall grass that grows wild on the dunes. Bright white cuts through the gray haze of evening as he draws his teeth along his bottom lip. “You look beautiful, Tess.”

“Not so bad yourself,” I say, trying to force nonchalance that I don’t feel. The truth is, my knees have gone weak at the sight of him. With his nearly black hair tousled by the wind and his button-down open just enough to reveal a smattering of dark chest hair, my mouth is practically watering. How I ever tried to convince myself I could resist him is beyond me. I was doomed from the start.

He pushes off the car to propel himself into my orbit, looping an arm around my waist and pulling me flush against his chest. Our heartbeats pound in tandem. His eyes glint as he smiles down at me. “Sure you want this dinner on your list? If we run now, we could probably revisit goal number five.”

A smirk twists my lips. “I think we’ve thoroughly investigated it.”

“And the verdict?”

“Best I ever had,” I say, enunciating each word succinctly. “Though I’ve definitely decided that it has nothing to do with your penis.”

More to do with the fact that I’m falling for him faster than I can reason myself out of it, but I’m not going to tell him that. Not when our separation looms ever closer, threatening as that not-so-distant storm. So I tell him, and then what? I walk away like none of this ever happened? Like my life hasn’t changed irrevocably, and all due to what should have been an inconsequential summer fling?

He sighs heavily. A wash of minty breath flows from his lips onto mine, pulling me back to the present, where his proximity alone is enough to flood my cheeks with warmth. That and his cheeky grin. “It was the double-jointed thumb, wasn’t it?”

I cough up a laugh. As I move to swat his chest, he captures my wrist and instead folds my hand in his and presses it to his sternum, where the resounding thud of his heart vibrates my palm. Then he leans forward and covers my lips with his. He takes his time with the kiss, like we’re the only two people in the world. And for a moment I’m nearly convinced we are.

“Kit! Tess!”

We break apart like waves. Alex leans over the porch railing above us, a bright bulb behind him rendering his features unreadable. The house, like all others this close to the water, is on stilts. The tall wooden beams keep the home safe from rising flood waters in the event of a hurricane. I can just make out Alex’s white linen shirt billowing in the strong breeze. A nearby flag whips and snaps against its pole, piercing the evening with its hollow clanging.

“Hey, Alex!” I call out, hoping he can’t hear just how breathless I sound.

Under the cover of dusk, Kit slips his hand from my lower back to my ass and squeezes. Hard enough that I’m reminded of the print he left in that exact place after our early morning balcony session earlier today.

“Later, then,” is all he says. But I feel it like the promise it is, seeping all the way down to my bones.

He releases me and makes quick work of the few feet between us and the stairs. It takes me a moment to kick into gear, but finally I do, and I’m flying past him, taking the steps two at a time.

Alex meets me at the top of the staircase. He holds out a hand and, once I’ve taken it, uses it to pull me into a hug. “So glad you got here before the storm!”

I pull back, cupping his biceps and grinning at him. “Hope you built a cover over that back patio since I was last here. Otherwise your second shower of the day will be happening in T-minus thirty minutes.”

“Ah, you assume there was a first shower.”

“Gross,” I say, wrinkling my nose. But I’m laughing, and so is he. His dark eyes narrow at a point over my shoulder, likely that foreboding cloud. From the way he clicks his tongue and nods, I can see he agrees with my assessment. Still, he shrugs as his gaze meets mine once more, as if to say,What can you do?

Alex is relaxed here in a way he never is at work. Free to enjoy himself without trying to keep the world afloat around him. The man in front of me is wearing cuffed chinos and a Cuban-style linen shirt that my dad would appreciate. He appears years younger than the version I see most often, who spends his days running a luxury resort that he and his wife built from scratch.

He tosses a playful wink and then releases me to embrace Kit. “Nice to see you, Mr. Llewellyn. Jenna tells me this was all your idea.”

Kit pinches my side gently. Enough to provoke the colony of butterflies in my stomach. “Please, call me Kit. And your wife is being too generous. I barely got a word out before she had the whole menu planned.”

“That’s my girl.” Pride softens Alex’s features. “Come, let’s get inside. How many years has it been,mija?”

“Too many.” I allow myself to be guided to the front door, with Alex at my side and Kit bringing up the rear. Once inside, I kick off my shoes at a familiar Turkish-style rug and watch as Kit does the same. The entryway opens right up into a kitchen and dining area, with sliding glass doors that lead to the back patio straight ahead on the far side of the house. A dividing wall splits the level down the middle, with an open archway leading from the dining room into a sunken living space that was filled with an overstuffed couch and enough cozy, hand-crafted throws to drown in the last time I saw it.

Mo sets a beer bottle on the kitchen island with a clink and marches across the small distance between us in his signature quick clip just to sweep me off my newly bare feet for a hug. “¡Qué hermosa eres!”

“Gracias,Mo.” I kiss his cheek and draw in his familiar tobacco scent.

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