“It’s beautiful.” He nods but doesn’t say anything else.
“I understand why you love it out here so much,” I say before continuing. “The time I spent back in New York was nothing like this. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful in its own way, but it’s not the same.”
The sun is basically gone now, the only light source coming from the string lights.
“Are you glad to be back?” Lance asks, moving sideways to look at me, his arm lying across the back of the small loveseat.
I smile down at my lap because I am. “So glad. My time there was over before it started. I should’ve seen the signs before I moved.”
When I look back up at Lance, I see he’s still looking at me. Something washes over his face, and before I can tell what it is, it’s gone.
He reaches up and brushes a loose piece of hair behind my ear. “He’s fucking stupid, sunshine.” His voice is soft but firm. I only shrug.
“I wasn’t perfect by any means. But that’s what I get for dating my boss.” A small laugh escapes me, and I smile; it took a lot for me to leave him, but I did it. Years of not being able to see myfamily or friends were hard, but I’m here and I’m back, ready to move forward.
“No. That’s not an excuse for anyone to be hurt the way you were. Just because he thinks he holds this immense amount of power doesn’t give him the right to dictate your life.” I can see Lance’s jaw tick as he lectures me about how wrong Alex was, and he’s right. He’s so fucking right. I know I deserve someone better.Someone like Lance. Only, that’s just a fairytale. He’s someone I can’t have, and that alone makes it feel like a heavy weight is sitting on my chest. Lance is every woman’s dream.
“Thank you, Lance. For everything.”
“There is nothing you need to thank me for, sunshine.” He looks at me, his eyes never leave mine, and in this moment, I want nothing more than to close the distance between us, to feel the warmth of his lips against mine, but I pause, knowing what could happen if I make this move.
As if sensing my hesitation, he drags a finger along my cold cheek, his touch sending shivers down my spine.
“Are you cold?” he asks softly, his eyes searching mine.
I shake my head, unable to tear my gaze from his. “No,” I whisper, my voice barely audible above the rustle of the leaves.
His thumb runs back and forth along my jawline, and he moves closer, only a few inches separating us. As his lips almost touch mine, a sound rings out around us, causing us to open our eyes and break apart.
I reach over to grab my phone, sighing when Alex’s name flashes across the screen again.
“Who is it?” Lance asks, probably seeing the frustration on my face.
“It’s Alex. He’s been calling and texting me nonstop for the past few hours.” Before I can say or do anything, my phone is out of my hands and against Lance’s ear.
“What part of leaving her alone are you not understanding?” Lance says as he stands. I can’t hear what Alex is spewing off, but I’m sure it’s nothing nice. The fact another man is answering my phone probably set him off.
“Kallie asked you to leave her alone. Stop contacting her, or we will have a problem.” Lance ends the call and hands me my phone back. I can’t seem to come up with something to say as I sit there and look at Lance, my mouth hanging open. Did he really just tell off my ex-boyfriend?
He sends me a wink. “Let's get you inside where it’s warmer.” He grabs the extra blankets and the coffee mugs before walking back inside. As I sit there, I can’t help but wish Alex never interrupted us, because Lance was only seconds away from pressing his lips to mine.
Chapter Ten
Kallie
“So, you can takethe bed; I’ll sleep on the couch in the living room,” Lance tells me as we walk toward his room. The second I walk through the door, I’m surrounded by everything that makes Lance…Lance. His dresser has a few jackets thrown over the top of it. A pocket knife and flashlight are on his nightstand, followed by a paperback and a water bottle.
“No, no, that’s fine. I can take the couch. It’s enough that you’re even letting me stay here. You can sleep in your bed, Lance.” I go to walk out, but he grabs my wrist before I get too far and pulls me back. I hit his hard chest with an oomph, looking up at him, and something crosses his face before he lets me go.
“No. You sleep in here.” He leaves no room for argument, but I argue anyway.
“No.You sleep in here. I’ll be just fine on the couch.” He mumbles something under his breath, but I run out of the room before he can stop me. I’m pretty sure he mumbled something like“Stubborn woman”,and I can’t help but laugh.
Lance doesn’t appear in the living room, so I assume it’s safe to say I won. The only light is from the lit fire across from the couch. Grabbing my bag, I pull out a pair of pajamas: a pair of silk shorts and a matching shirt. I grab the hem of the shirt I’m wearing and begin to pull it over my head then move to unbuttoning the top of my jeans.
I guess I should have gone into the bathroom to change, since Lance could walk out at any moment, but I doubt he’ll be back out here tonight. We are both tired from the power going out and not getting much sleep. Not to mention, I feel like playing with fire after knowing what his body felt like against mine.
Before lowering my jeans, I pull the silk shirt over my head after removing my bra. Next, I lower my jeans, wiggling more than necessary. Instead of my pants coming off gracefully, I wobble and topple to the left. The chair next to me catches my fall.
