Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Propping up onto my elbow, I bend to kiss her head, then look out at the property. “I can’t see a damn thing, but if you listen carefully, we might be able to hear the river.”
She’s quiet, lifting onto her elbows to stare into the dark. “I can’t hear it.” Her disappointment streams through the words.
“It’s okay. It’s quieter at this point in the river.”
Lying her head back on the pillow, she watches me as I settle in next to her, then rolls to her side to cuddle against me. “If I ask you something, do you promise to tell me the truth?” she whispers as if someone else might overhear her.
There’s no point trying to guess what she’s about to ask. She surprises me every time anyway. “I promise.”
“Are you really only designing the house for you and Jacob?”
It’s as if she reached inside my chest to squeeze my heart. How do I answer honestly and still protect myself? I don’t think I can. But I made her a promise I’ll keep. “No.” If she asked me to be more specific, I would, so I offer my heart up on a platter upfront. “I was thinking of the three of us.”
And then I hold my breath, waiting for her reaction.
CHAPTER 28
Griffin
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
I hold Cricket tighter in some lame attempt to make this night last longer, though I know I can’t keep her here forever. I’d eventually be arrested. The subtle movement of her smile growing against my chest allows me to relax, settling me into the moment for just a minute longer. “That doesn’t scare you?” I prop my head up by resting it on my arm so I can see her.
She lifts her head and rests her chin on her arm over my ribs. With her eyes already peering up at me under dark lashes, she replies, “No. It doesn’t scare me. I know you’re not expecting me to jump the Dover Creek ship.” Her eyes glance at the house, then return to mine. “But it’s crossed my mind before.”
This is news. Stroking her head, I could lie like this with her all night and listen to her middle-of-the-night confessions. It’s unwarranted to grin from the possibility that we could be here together one day, permanently, but not everything has to be a well-thought-out plan. “Something I learned while traveling was to let go of what everyone else expected of me. I had the privilege of money, time, and enough youth to be careless sometimes.”
“I was careless once.” A cheeky smile squeezes her lips together, but that sparkle in her eyes is too brilliant to miss.
“Tell me all about it.”
“Well,” she says, moving beside me. With her head on a pillow next to mine, she faces me. “There was this sultry night in Central America. My cousin and I reunited with a couple of other friends who moved after high school for a few days of sunbathing, spa treatments, and relaxation.” The blanket has been discarded to the end of the bed, and I’m mesmerized by how the sheet follows the flow of her body. Sliding my hand under, I rest it on the peak of her hip. Her skin is warm like the night air, and as my gaze travels the hills and valleys, I land on her lips. The seductive pink plush draws me forward to steal a kiss before falling back into place.
She licks her lips right after, as if she wants to taste me before it fades. “What was that for?”
“No reason. So it was a sultry night . . .”
“Relaxing for two days got boring, so we went out for dinner and dancing.” She chuckles to herself as if the memory evoked it. “I wanted to see the ocean and the stars and to cool off by getting out of that stuffy bar. So we left. I didn’t get twenty feet from the door before I saw a god among men walking down the street.”
“I like this story.”
“Thought you might,” she says, cracking a bigger smile for me.
Dragging my fingers over her arm and higher to her neck, I study the bluff of her jaw and trace along the edge. “Tell me more about this god among men.”
Her laughter is heartier this time, with no air of tension or rush to return to her home. She doesn’t even appear tired, not that I want to waste time sleeping. “Golden tan and wild locks of hair on top bleached from the sun as if he spent his days surfing and his nights sleeping under the moon.”
“I like him.”
Winning another laugh from her has me grinning like a victor on the podium stand. She leans closer, and whispers, “Me, too, but don’t tell him.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” I murmur, and mime locking my lips and tossing the key behind me. “I think you left off after sleeping under the moon.”