Page 34 of Seized by Love at Seaside
The music drowned out her voice. She mounted the stairs feeling the oppression of her confession clinging to her. Blue was standing on a stepladder, painting the room the color of French-vanilla ice cream. The muscles in his shoulders bunched beneath his shirt as he painted along the edge of the molding. She could turn around and tiptoe out and he’d never know she was there. Just forget the whole idea and go back to the bubble she’d allowed herself to inhabit with him.
At the tail of that thought, Blue stepped from the ladder and turned to dip his brush in the paint, startling when he saw her. A smile spread across his lips. He wassosexy.
“Hey, babe. I wasn’t expecting you. Did I lose track of time?”
He strode across the floor with a warm look in his eyes. It was a look she’d already come to love, a look that said,I’m so glad you’re here. Kiss me.His arm swept her possessively against him as his lips claimed hers. Her entire body heated. He gazed at her with so much emotion in his eyes that she felt her resolve slipping away. Her breathing hitched, and her heart followed.
Oh my gosh.
She’d already fallen.
She grabbed his arm to steady her wobbly legs.I love you.She tried to evaluate those emotions, to pick them apart, but her mind was spinning. Maybe it was all the emotions coursing through her because of what she’d come to tell him. She looked into his eyes, and the side of his mouth curved up, sending a spear through her heart. No. It was him. All of him and all of her. It was the way they were together, the fun they had, the love they so easily shared. She loved him. There was no doubt, no hesitation, only heartfelt emotions.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” He pressed his lips to hers again.
Being in his arms was like coming home.
“Every time we’re apart,” he said, “I miss you more than I did the last time.”
Nothing had ever felt so right—and she’d never been so wrong. This was worse than walking the plank. This felt more like committing hari-kari.
The urge to change her mind and not tell him the truth was too strong, like she was battling a tangible presence. A literal skeleton that had moved out of the closet, looming behind him and waiting to be revealed with a few words. Words she didn’t want to say, words that would bring it to life, so the darn thing could move between them and drive them apart.
“I missed you, too,” she said honestly. “I’m sorry to interrupt your work.”
He closed the paint can and put a hand on the small of her back as they walked downstairs.
“You’re never an interruption. I can’t think of a better reason to stop working.”
Did he have to be so positive? Couldn’t he be a jerk for once and tell her that she was a big pain in the neck for interrupting or something else that was equally as jerky? That would make this much easier.
Blue washed out the brushes in the mudroom, while Lizzie paced the hallway trying to talk herselfoutof chickening out of coming clean.
He joined her a minute later with open arms, gathering her in close and smelling like heaven on legs. Why, oh why, did everything about him turn her inside out?
“Did you bring the whipped cream to work on your lists?” The spark in his eyes told her he was teasing, but that didn’t stop the realization from hitting her anew—she’d finally found someone she cared enough about, felt comfortable enough with—lovedenough—to want to explore those lists.
She felt her cheeks flush when she met his heated gaze. “I was in such a hurry to see you…”
“You sure are cute when you’re embarrassed.” He pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “I was only joking. Was your evening okay?” Blue asked. “Did you get everything done that you hoped to?”
“Um…Not really, but I wanted to come see you.”Because I’m an idiot.For the first time in Lizzie’s life, she wished she were one of those people who could live a lie without remorse.
No.
Not really.
But it would make things easier.
Ohmygosh. No, it wouldn’t.Wasn’t that what she’d been trying to do for years?
He kissed her again. “I love that you came over. Do you want to go back to my place?”
“No.” She said it so quickly his brow furrowed. If she went back to his place, she’d want to cuddle up with him, which would lead to kissing him, and kissing Blue was never enough.
“I mean, let’s take a walk.”
“Sure.” He grabbed a blanket, and they walked down to the beach. “Are you okay, sweetheart? You seem a little jumpy.”
