Page 56 of Sweet Passions at Bayside
“It’s because you feel safe with me,” he said. “We’ve shared a lot over the months we were apart. Some things I would have rather not heard about, and I’m sure there were times you didn’t want to hear about things I shared. But I never judged you, and you never judged me. That creates a sense of safety.”
“I didn’t see it that way. I saw our talks as two friends sharing their daily lives. When you told me about the dates you went on, I wanted you to be happy, but now I know that the reason I ate nearly a half gallon of ice cream on those nights was because I was jealous.”
“No way.” He pulled her closer. “I can’t even imagine you being jealous.”
“No? I could have clawed Chloe’s eyes out in the first thirty seconds of seeing her. The way she looked at you was proprietary and intimate.”
That surprised him. “We’ve known each other forever, but we’ve never gone out. She’s a friend, unlike all those horseback-riding, lasso-swinging cowboys you callfriendsback home.”
She buried her face in his chest. “And yet you still want me.”
He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. “More than you can imagine. I like who you are. I told you, there’s nothing you can do that will scare me away, and I’m not going to let you sabotage our relationship when you get scared.”
She scowled. “You think you know me so well?”
“Hardly. You’re not the type of woman a man can ever be done getting to know. You’re power and passion, too wild to be tamed and too smart to let anyone dull your shine. You’re like the ocean, shaping the landscape around you as you go through life. I know better than to stand in your way. You’d find a way to blow right through me.”
She went up on her knees and moved between his legs, looking hauntingly beautiful against the rising sun.
“You really see me like that? Powerful? Wanting others to change to fit my needs?”
The sadness in her eyes told him that she’d misunderstood the beauty he meant to convey. “I do see you as powerful and beautiful, but not asking others to change to fit your needs. You own who you are, and you do what it takes to get where you want to be. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
He kissed her softly, but the uncertainty in her eyes remained. “Emery, you don’t ask for anything. You’re beautiful and passionate. You’re bright lights and steamy nights. You’re the little girl who would move heaven and earth to make her best friend feel safe and happy after her mother broke her heart and the strong woman who won’t settle for anything less than she deserves.”
Her eyes glossed over again, as they had in the bedroom.
“You don’t ask others to change. But you don’t take any crap. When you’re not treated right, you walk away. I’ll never ask you to change, either. But as you know, I have asked that you open your eyes with regard to our relationship, to make sure you don’taccidentallyblow us both out of the water.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. “You see me clearer than anyone ever has in my entire life.”
He held her close, wishing the sun would take hours to rise so they could remain right there together, keeping the rest of the world at bay. He couldn’t hold back from asking for what he really wanted. “I wish you’d consider staying, and not move to the inn.”
She was quiet for a long moment.
“It’s too soon,” he said, more heartbroken than he’d like to admit and wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. “Sorry I mentioned it.”
She moved back and gazed into his eyes with a serious expression. “It would be easy to say okay, but I’m still worried I’ll somehow drive you away, and I don’t want what we have to end.”
“You won’t drive me away.”
“Then let me prove that to myself. Moving out will be hard, especially since you’re so addicting. I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like to wake up in a separate house, much less a separate room. But I have to know this is real, and if it is, then a short walk won’t make a difference.”
He wanted to push her, but even if he didn’t need proof that their relationship could withstand a little distance—for Pete’s sake, they’d been hundreds of miles apart for months—he acquiesced to ease her mind. “Okay, doll.”
She rested her head on his shoulder again, remaining quiet for so long this time, he hoped she was reconsidering.
“You’re really good at these example outings,” she finally said. “I don’t want them to end. Because once they stop, it means we’ve decided to date, and when people date, they find flaws in each other. Everything will change. And when you couple that with me moving out…”
She lifted her head again, and the worry in her eyes brought his hands to her cheeks, holding her so she couldn’t look away, couldn’t avoid seeing the honesty in his eyes. “No, sweet girl. We’ve had months of getting to know each other’s flaws. When they come out, we’ll embrace them, and the ones we can’t, we’ll talk about until we find a way to accept them. Not everything good ends with disappointment. We’re moving from example outings to a real, claim-me-as-your-guy relationship, and I’ll do everything within my power to make sure you never regret that decision.”
Chapter Seventeen
EMERY SPENT WEDNESDAY evening hanging out with Desiree in Provincetown. She needed a little girl time, and it was a good distraction to keep from running back over to Dean’s house and crawling into his bed. She hadn’t even spent one night alone yet, and already she missed him. When she’d visited over Christmas, the inn had felt homey, and it had been easy to see herself there. Now, at a little after midnight, as she closed her bedroom door, leaving the expansive emptiness on the other side of it, everything felt different. Over Christmas, the big Victorian had been bustling with their friends. She’d been by Dean’s side even then, sharing his drinks and dinners, laughing and joking.
Flirting.
She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her still-packed suitcases and thinking about how they’d gone from shamelessly flirting to falling for each other. She ran her finger over the bracelet he’d given her, missing everything about him. His laugh, that serious expression that would suddenly flash so hot her heart would stutter. She even missed the way he touched her when he walked by, and the scratch of his beard on her cheek when they kissed. Oh, she missed that. But she’d made the right decision to follow up with her plans and move into the inn. For once in her life, she was thinking things through.
