“And you think I light up a room?”
“When I got back home this morning after dropping you off, my cabin felt like it had less life in it. Your absence was tangible, like part of me was missing. I realize that might be the craziest thing I’ve ever said after two dates.” He searched her softening gaze, seeing the disbelief slowly melt away. “It’s true, Lizzie. We spent a year building a friendship. A foundation, as you said. It makes sense that we’d fall hard and fast.”
She clutched his shirt just above his waist, and her eyes went serious again.
“You make me want to give in to what I feel and not worry about how complicated my life is.”
He touched his forehead to hers, basking in the knowledge that she wanted to give in to the emotions between them. “We’ll uncomplicate it together. Nothing is too much for us to handle.”
“I want to believe you.” Her grip tightened, snagging his skin in her clutches.
He covered her hand possessively and reassured her. “Trust in me, Lizzie, like I trust in you. We belong together. I’ve known it since we first met, and it’s only gotten stronger every day since.”
Chapter Nine
IT WAS AFTER eight by the time they left the festival. The sun had long ago kissed the horizon, leaving a chilly evening behind, but Lizzie was warm and happy sitting beside Blue on the drive home, tucked beneath his arm. She’d already decided to forgo trying to end their relationship—because in the space of a day that’s exactly what it had become. A relationship. She struggled with how to tell him about the Naked Baker, because she knew Blue trusted her, and the guilt of hiding that part of herself was eating away at her. Maybe it was selfish that she didn’t want to ruin this beautiful day by blurting out something that might totally turn him off, but as she snuggled closer and he kissed her temple, she knew she would never get enough of him. How could she? Blue was everything she’d always known he’d be, and so much more.
“I would really like to see the place you bought out on the bluff. You’ve talked about it, but I’ve never actually seen it.”
“I’d love to show it to you.” He squeezed her tighter against him. “How about if we make a fire and we can chill on the beach for a while?”
On the way to Bowers Bluff, Blue’s brother Jake called. Blue put the call on speakerphone. “Jake, good to hear from you and to know you’re alive.”
“Dude, do you expect anything less? It was a hell of a mess. Sorry for not being in touch.” Jake’s voice was as deep as Blue’s. “We got about two hours’ sleep each night before heading back out. Am I on a squawk box?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’m driving, and keep it clean. Lizzie’s with me.” Lizzie had met his younger brother last summer, when Jake had come to visit. He was tall and fit, like Blue, and a total flirt.
“Hi, Jake,” Lizzie said.
“Hey, Lizzie. How’s it going?”
“Great, thanks.”
“What’re you doing with B? Slummin’ because I’m not in town?” Jake asked with a laugh.
“I can still kick the shit out of you,” Blue teased.
“Yeah, yeah,” Jake scoffed. “We’ll see if that’s true when we get together at Cash’s wedding. Are you going, too, Lizzie?”
She said, “No,” at the same time Blue said, “Maybe.”
“Okay, then,” Jake said. “Listen, I was just calling to let you know I’m okay. I’ve got to give Duke a ring. He’s called me about fifty times. I’ll see you at the wedding. Have fun, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Great. No restrictions, then. Love ya, bro,” Blue said casually.
“You too.”
Blue was smiling when he ended the call. Lizzie had seen Blue with Duke and Jake, and she knew how close they all were, but hearing Blue say he loved his brother struck her in the center of her chest.
“I like that you guys say you love each other,” Lizzie said.
“Family’s everything,” Blue said. “Don’t you tell your family you love them?”
“All the time. But I’ve never heard guys say it so freely.” She glanced out the window as Blue pulled down a dirt road. “This is really private.”
“Just the way I like it.”
He parked the truck in front of an adorable white cottage with a red roof, set at the edge of a sandy beach streaked with long dune grasses whipping in the wind. There were no trees or bushes to buffer the breeze as it swept off the water. To the right of the house stood a stately white lighthouse with a balcony around the top and a peaked black and glass cap.
“This is beautiful.”