Page 53 of Honey Bee Library
I paused, taking in her beauty before I cleared my throat and approached her. Willow’s gaze snapped up to meet mine as she straightened. I didn’t stop my smile from spreading across my lips. As soon as I got to her, I realized that I was going to need to speak, but I wasn’t sure what to say. So I went with the first thing that entered my mind.
“You okay?” I asked as I moved to catch her gaze. I didn’t pull back. I wanted to be close to her.
Her eyes widen as she studied me. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
Her words were soft and soothed a part of me that I didn’t know was aching. There was so much about Willow that I liked, and I was beginning to see that there was so much about Willow that I didn’t know—but I wanted to.
God, I wanted to.
“Can I take those for you?” I asked, nodding toward the bags in her hands.
She paused and then lifted them up for me. “Okay,” she whispered.
I took them from her, and the feeling of her skin against my fingers sent electrical shockwaves throughout my body. I could feel her stare as I walked toward my bedroom. My entire body was acutely aware of where she was. When I got to my room, I shifted the bags into one hand so I could turn the door handle.
I was a few steps into my room when I noticed that Willow hadn’t followed me. When I turned, I saw her standing in the doorway with an unsure expression. Not wanting to force her to do anything she wasn’t comfortable with, I set the bags down against the nearest wall and turned to face her.
“They’ll be here for you in the morning,” I said as I offered her a soft smile.
She glanced down at the bags and then back up at me. “Sounds good,” she said.
Silence filled the air between us. I wanted to speak, but I didn’t know what to say. At the same time, I didn’t want her to declare that the night was over and slip away. I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could.
“I should—” she started.
“I’m going—” I started.
We both stopped talking. She pinched her lips closed as her gaze met mine. Her cheeks were pink, accenting the paleness of her skin and the splash of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
Not wanting her to finish her statement, which I had a sinking suspicion was going to end with, “…get going to bed,” I hurried to offer my alternative.
“I’m going to head to the hot tub, wanna join?”
I didn’t expect the deafening silence that followed my question. It felt like an eternity, waiting for Willow to answer.
One Mississippi.
Two Mississippi.
Three Mississippi.
Shit. I’d made a mistake. I’d been so wrapped up in my own desires that I’d allowed myself to get carried away with thoughts of Willow and me being something more. I didn’t expect that she would react this way.
I needed to fix this. “I’m so?—”
“I don’t have a swimsuit.”
I was halfway through when her words finally registered in my mind. I glanced down to see her staring up at me, chewing on her bottom lip.
“You don’t have a swimsuit?” I repeated.
She shook her head.
I glanced into my room. I had swim trunks, but that probably wasn’t going to work. And the thought of seeing Willow in said trunks was causing my body to react in ways it shouldn’t be. I cleared my throat in an effort to get my head on straight and glanced back to Willow.
“I don’t have a swimsuit for you,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.
She glanced around before slowly bringing her gaze back to me. “I guess I could just wear my bra and underwear.”
