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“Top or bottom,” she breathes, bracing her forearms on my shoulders when I nip at her jaw and her hands tunnel into my hair. Twisting and knotting with the swipe of my tongue to her lips. “I don’t think it matters.”
“What matters?”
Licking the underside of her bottom lip, I tighten my grip on her ass, sliding her down my body so that our eyes meet.
“I don’t know,” Rosie chuckles, a soft blush tinting her cheeks. “I can’t think when you’re touching me like this or when you’re teasing my lips.”
Neither can I. I can’t think or rationalize at all where she’s concerned. All that matters is how it feels and how deeply I crave her. There’s no control that could restrain my need for her body and her mind. Nothing that can sate the hunger in my heart for hers.
Maybe this is love. And it is everything I didn’t know I was missing. The part of my soul I didn’t know existed. Until now. Until her. Until us.
Every part of me needs her to know that, but I’m a man of my word. It’s the one thing I stand by no matter what. And I can’t tell her something that I don’t know is real, no matter how genuine it feels, because feelings change all the time. Don’t they?
“I’m making the most of the view,” I tell her with a press of my lips to hers. “I was told it’s the best in the hotel.”
When she kisses me in return, I can’t hold back my smile with the pang of warmth it injects through me. My arms wrap around her waist, refusing to ever let her go as her stare opens up on mine again.
“I think it’s the best view in Texas,” Rosie murmurs.
“The world, Angel.” And that is the truth. The only certainty I can give her right now, and the only one that I have meant with every fiber of my being—my body, my heart, and my soul.
The sun is scorching as we sit out on the private terrace of the three-bedroom suite we’re sharing with Maggie and the kids. Summer and Parker have the two-bedroom suite on the other side. It surprised me when he invited us to stay at his hotel, and I couldn’t exactly say no when he insisted. Rosie and Summer are like sisters, and the last thing I want to do is piss her family off. Changing our reservations from the Four Seasons across the lake to the Hawthorne wasn’t difficult, and having Summer here definitely eased Rosie’s nerves of meeting Dad and being introduced to my life.
“You got a goofy smile,” Maggie nudges me while I watch Dad and Rosie talk. “But it’s okay because Rosie’s totally amazing.”
“She is.”
“Logan loves her.”
Just like I knew he would. I think part of it is down to the fact that she and Maggie are friends. He’s always adored Maggie and the kids. So anyone that my sister would approve of, he’s all in.
I’m all in, I just wish I knew how to tell her that without feeling like I’m promising something that I can’t guarantee and that could end up hurting her.
“Why are you so quiet?”
I debate making a joke to avoid her question, but Rosie’s gaze meets mine and I’m overwhelmed by the warmth in her eyes. Louise’s comment from this morning resounds in my head, making me question myself again. I’ve never been so torn about how or what I feel and what I know of those feelings. I’m out of my depth, and every part of me is ready to drown in it. But I know how hurt she’s been already and I’ve seen the destruction a broken heart can cause. I had a front-row seat growing up with Mom, and I can’t do that to Rosie. I refuse to be reckless with her heart.
“Brody?”
“We should probably check on the kids,” I tell her, getting up and heading toward the seating area outside the lounge where the kids are watching television and playing.
I pause, perching on the back of the outdoor sofa while Maggie follows. It’s quieter here, and it’s easier to talk to her when I know no one can hear me. If I can talk to anyone, it’s her. While we watch the kids, I think of how better to word my thoughts. Something I rarely do because it’s better to say what you mean clearly so that things never get lost in translation, and maybe it’s what I need to do now.
“Maggie…” I blow out a breath as I focus on her. “How do you know you love someone?”
Brown eyes widen on mine. I’m not sure if she’s surprised by my question or shocked that I’m asking it. After a moment of debate, she hums still in thought, “I…it’s…”
“Like, you know, you’re in love with them?”
“Crap, Brody, I don’t know.”
Of course she does. “You were married.”
“I was, but love isn’t one feeling that fits all. Everyone loves differently, feels differently.” She shrugs with a sorry twist of her lips. “I can’t answer that because I’m not you. Even if you told me how you feel in a way that I could feel it too, what’s inside of me would never be what’s inside of you.”
“But I don’t want to tell her something that’s not true.” I glance toward the table, losing myself to the sight of Rosie and that unbearable pang in my chest screams for her. “I don’t want to hurt her, Maggie, but I need her to know that there’s no one like her. Not to me.”
“Oh my God, Brody.” Maggie links her arm through mine, hugging it while we both stare across the terrace at Rosie.
