She laughs, and then I hear her little snort, and I grin wider.
“Do you ever wish you could just freeze a moment in time? Like this part is so good that you never want it to change?”
I swallow, because that’s exactly how I feel.
“Yeah. This is pretty perfect… You’re pretty perfect, Nikki,” I say softly, with adoration, and her hands tighten around my neck, like she’s scared I’ll let her go. But I wrap mine around her waist tighter, ensuring she knows that I never will. That kind of feeling imprints on my heart, making my already protective feelings for her increase even more.
“It’s… Charlotte. My name’s Charlotte.” Her voice is a mere whisper, her admission a gift that hits me in the chest. I swallow hard, knowing she’s sharing a big piece of her secret life with me, and I’m more than happy to carry that for her.
“Charlotte.” My tongue wraps around the name, getting a feel for it, and I hear her suck in a sharp breath.
“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” Leaning forward, I place my lips on hers, holding her a little bit tighter, wanting her to know that I’ve got her. She hums into the kiss, and I pull back, pressing another on her forehead before pulling back to look at her.
“Your brother?” I ask.
Her smile is small but full of meaning as she shares another truth. “Preston.”
I nod. Preston suits him much better.
“There’s so much I need to tell you, so much that you should know—”
I cut her off, seeing the turmoil on her face. “You tell me when you’re ready. I don’t want to rush you. Believe me, there’s nothing you can tell me that would ever scare me away.”
She wants to be honest with me. It’s in her nature; she’s a genuine person, and I know she isn’t keeping things from me maliciously. It’s more about self-preservation than anything else.
I run my hands over her hair, wondering, not for the first time, what her natural color is. Her body relaxes against mine again. She feels safe with me.
“I could be an axe murderer on the run?” Her lips quirk as her eyebrows rise.
I chuckle at that. “Hmmmm… I think you would’ve killed me already,” I murmur against her lips before I take them in mine.
“I could be a journalist, here to get the Hollywood scoop…”
I grin against her mouth. “Nope, you would’ve cashed your money in by now. I would be front-page news already. Can’t fool me, baby.”
She purses her lips playfully. “Maybe I’m just using you for your amazing… swimming skills…”
My hands squeeze her ass as she giggles. “You think I have good skills, huh?” I kiss her then, our words muffled as our lips don’t part, and I feel her smile against me.
“I think you have very good skills…” Her hips move, and now it’s my turn to smile.
“You’re pretty perfect, Charlotte,” I whisper exactly what I said before, but with her real name now, and she sinks into my hold.
As I keep us afloat, our bodies still connected, her head buried into my shoulder, my arms wrapped around her tight, I know that I’m completely and utterly in love with her. And I don’t know what in the world to do about it.
Because I still don’t know who she really is.
I sit in the kitchen, my brother staring at me.
“You know, I was thinking it before, with all the bees and things. But now, I’m sure of it. You’ve lost your damn mind.”
I might be the actor in the family, but my brother got the dramatics.
“What is it that you have a problem with, exactly?”
“It’s fifty acres!” He throws his hands up into the air, and I roll my eyes.
“Listen, I can’t go looking for this guy. It’ll probably blow my cover. But Rochelle knows him. Apparently, he comes into the diner sometimes.”
