Page 107 of Resting Beach Face
He smiled. “I don’t know if it’s in my DNA, but then again, I never saw you coming.”
“Because you were blind,” I teased.
He laughed. “I guess I was.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Declan
After two margaritas,Cash joined me on my side of the booth, leaning in close enough for our shoulders to touch, one hand dropping to squeeze my thigh.
Hudson’s mother, Judy Nash, sat a few tables away with her boyfriend, Ansel. She smiled and leaned forward to say something that made him look our way, bushy eyebrows rising in surprise. Well, that meant the whole town would know about our date in no time. Ansel was the loudest mouth in Swallow Cove, aside from his buddy Chester, who was doing his darnedest to court Brooks’s grandmother.
Cash snickered. “We’re going to be the talk of town, Dec. You okay with that?”
“I didn’t bring you on a date to keep you a secret.”
“No? I’ve got a reputation in this town…”
I glanced down, surprised to see Cash looking at me with wide, worried eyes. “I know, love, but they don’t know you like I do.”
He smiled and nuzzled in close. “Say that again.”
“I know you.”
He chuckled. “No, call me love again.”
“Love,” I murmured in a soft voice.
He bit his bottom lip. “Damn, that’s so sexy.” He hurriedly tacked on, “And sweet.”
“You’re pretty sexy right now too,” I teased. “And sweet.”
I surprised a laugh out of him. “Yeah? You want to get out of here, so we can be sweet and sexy without an audience?”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
It was a beautiful night, dusk painting the sky in lavender hues as we left the restaurant. Water sloshed against the sides of the boat as we boarded it. Cash leaned over to shove off from the pylon on the dock. As soon as we had the space, I started the motor and headed for open water.
We were a couple of minutes from the B&B. When we got there, things could go one of two ways. We could sit on the couch, cuddle close, and soak up our affection for each other, which I always loved.
Or…
My heart skipped.
It wasn’t often I thought about that other option. Tonight was different. There was a thrum in my veins and a warmth in my chest that had begun to travel to other regions.
It unnerved me a little, this rush of heat. It wasn’t something I experienced every day—or hell, even every month. Cash’s easy acceptance of me, oflovingme for exactly who I was and not just who he wanted me to be, made it easier to figure out what I actually wanted for myself.
Not what my boyfriend demanded. Not what society might dictate. But what I reallydesired.
Not sex for the sake of lust. But intimacy. Closeness. A bond that only we could share. I wanted those things with him.
“Shit,” he exclaimed.
I startled out of my thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
“I meant to order something for Kat.” He winced. “I haven’t thought about her all night.”
