Page 64 of Crumbling Truth
“Hi,” she murmured, her lashes dropping to shield her eyes from the sun as she burrowed closer to me.
“Hi,” I echoed with a smile.
It struck me then and there thatthis,this beautiful, private moment with her, was the true temptation. Of all the things that might bring me back to Spruce Hill after so many years away—my parents, my best friends, my history—this was like a hook between my ribs, pulling me inexorably closer to my roots. I didn’t want to give it up.
I didn’t want to giveherup.
Of course, there was a hell of a lot more to it than just deciding such a thing, so I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the way she stretched like a cat, her shirt riding up to reveal a golden swath of skin just above one hip. I managed to wait three beats before rolling so we were facing one another and sneaking my hand up to that spot, not in any seductive capacity but simply to appreciate the warm silk of her skin.
When I was finally sure she was awake, I gave her hip a squeeze and asked, “What do you have going on today?”
“I have a small order to get ready for a company Christmas party on Thursday, and then I need to make up a bigger order for the high school’s winter formal this weekend. I think that’s it until the Carolcade the weekend after.”
“Do you have any objections to me installing a doorbell camera on the guest house? Roberts suggested it and I think it’s a good idea.” I tried to keep my tone light, unconcerned, but she tensed under my palm.
“No, no objections, if you think it’s necessary,” she replied.
I did, though I wasn’t about to scare her more than I had to. The thought of someone watching the house, waiting until Ileft her alone, then creeping up to her door with something that could kill her—fuck, it made me want to burn the world down in her honor. Instead, I kissed her temple and ran my hand down to cup her ass through the fuzzy pants she had on.
“What time do you need to get started?” I asked, trailing my mouth down her cheekbone to nip at her bottom lip.
She laughed. “Not just yet, Romeo. We’ve got at least an hour or two. Think you can get done whatever it is you wanted to do before then?”
I moved my hand to the crevice behind her knee and hooked her leg over my hip, kissing a path toward her collarbone. Even as I explored the tiny hollows there, the delicate bones that carried so much on her sweet shoulders, I debated what I treasured more: her low, husky laughter or her helpless, throaty purr.
Reversing the path, I kissed my way back up to her lips and murmured, “I guess that’ll just have to do.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Esther
Thoughhehiditwell, Theo was worried.
I saw it as clearly as the lust that darkened his eyes from caramel to espresso. Still, I accepted the diversion he offered, because when I stopped to think about it, I was worried, too.
My concern, though, was less about the box of peanuts or the silly phone calls. It was more focused on the fact that something inside of me wanted to throw caution to the wind and keep riding the wave of our weeks together with reckless abandon, regardless of the inevitable crash at the end.
I told him at the start that I didn’t want to lose myself, but now? An unmistakable part of me wanted to ignore every warning from the logical side of my brain and let it happen.
While I updated my accounting spreadsheet from the tree lighting and confirmed a couple of New Year’s Eve party orders, Theo left to track down the cameras he planned to install. The guest house felt quiet, almost somber, in his absence, so I turned on the radio station that played non-stop Christmas music starting the day after Thanksgiving and got to work.
At Theo’s insistence, I’d bolted the door when he left. I was busy mixing batter and dancing around the kitchen when the doorbell rang, scaring the daylights out of me. A startled shriek slipped past my lips before I could contain it and my heart launched into double time before I forced myself to go to the door.
I didn’t know what I was expecting to see through the peephole, but on the other side was Sofia, bundled up in a puffy pink jacket.
“Hey,” I gasped as I swung the door open. “You scared the hell out of me.”
Her eyes flew wide. “Oh, shoot, I’m so sorry! I should’ve called first, I was just out to grab a couple things and wanted to check on you. Theo told Ollie what happened last night. Are you okay?”
“Come on in. I’m fine, I promise,” I said as I stepped back to let her through the door. “Just a stupid prank, that’s all.”
“Theo doesn’t seem to think so, from what Ollie said,” she countered, studying my face like she could see straight into my soul.
I sighed and turned back toward the kitchen, just in case she reallycouldread my thoughts about him. “Do you want some coffee or something?”
Sofia shook her head. “Is Theo a sore subject for some reason? If he hurt you, I’ll kick his ass.”
“Sore? Not at all.”
