She wets her lips. “Truth?”
“Always.” I shift closer on the bench seat, bringing her legs across my lap—letting my hands linger on her calves, thumbs moving in gentle circles against her skin.
“Do you want to kiss me again?” she asks, and I’ve never heard her voice like this. It’s like a dream, quiet but perfectly clear.
I don’t hesitate, even for a second, before repeating, “Always.”
She ducks her head, mouth turned up on one side. When I reach out to lift her chin, she worries her bottom lip with her teeth again and I want to groan at what that look does to me.
“Truth?” I ask, my eyes homed in on that lip, on her teeth pressing into it, on the deepening color. “Do youwant me to kiss you?”
God. Please say yes.
There’s nothing but brazen confidence in her expression when she says, “Always.”
I tighten my hand on her leg and glance toward the window into the kitchen… Anyone could see us from here. I can’t kiss her now. No matter how much I may want to.
“Want to go for a walk?” I ask, my meaning clear. When her hand slips into mine, our fingers twining, I feel a zing of anticipation. My heart rate goes haywire, like the organ might actually burst from my chest.
We don’t have to walk far, and we don’t say anything while we do. The tension between us grows thicker with each passing step, with every flirtatious glance, with every swipe of my thumb over her hand. The loch stretches out before us in no time and the point that juts out into it looms ever closer. It’s a secluded spot with trees and rocks obscuring the shoreline from view of the surrounding village. It’s a place we’ve come to swim on particularly hot days, a place where we can just be. Quiet. Private.
Perfect.
This is it. My chance to finally kiss her, to finally have her how I’ve wanted for years, but my head says we need to set some boundaries. I don’t want to ruin what we have.
I slip a hand onto her waist, under the flannel, and her abdominal muscles tighten beneath my fingers.
“Avi… I don’t… This is just for the summer. We both know that, right?”
Her gaze blazes a trail across my face, down my chest and back up, and I feel that look like a brand on my skin.
“It’s just kissing. We can kiss for the summer,” she responds with an emphatic nod.
I catch her chin with my thumb and forefinger and her tongue darts out, swiping across her lips. Jesus, that’s hot.
“Just for the summer. Just kissing. We’re still best friends at the end,” I say in a rush, and then crash my mouth over hers.
Finally, I get a taste of what I’ve truly been missing with her all these summers.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Avonlea – Eleven Years Ago
Just for the summer. Just kissing. We’re still best friends at the end.
Jamie’s words from my first day back on Skye run a constant loop in my head, but with every kiss, I still have to remind myself that this is just for the summer. This is just kissing.Nothing changes when the summer ends and I go back to Glasgow and he goes back to Nevada.
It’s getting harder to remember that though.
Especially now with him kissing my neck. The hay under us is scratchy, even with the tartan blanket we laid down when we snuck in here. We said it was so we could read in peace and get out of the rain, but that didn’t last five minutes.
I’m on my back with Jamie braced over me, his lips seeking out any exposed inch of skin. The line of my sternum is where hisattention is at the moment and I can’t catch my breath. “Jamie…” I whisper, and he moves his mouth to mine, taking his name off my lips with one soft kiss.
Do we spend too much time kissing? Probably. We’ve almost been caught several times. On the swing in the dark of night when we thought no one would be around. On Jamie’s bed when we were sure Angus and Aileen were busy with the inn. In the field of wildflowers when we were supposed to be having a picnic.
Just for the summer. Just kissing. We’re still best friends at the end.
“I have an idea,” Jamie says, propping himself on an elbow beside me. I shift onto my side too and grin as I watch him slide his glasses back into place. He’s been wearing them more this summer than he has in years. Usually I hardly see him in them at all, but for some reason, he’s worn them almost every day. I love it.
