“Much better. Do you want to take a walk around the resort or something?”
He nods. “Can I be honest about something?”
“I insist.”
He chuckles. “I’ve spent way too much time in this room trying to avoid you.”
I make a face. “Why?”
“Because I’m not sure I’ve ever met a woman who incites such a wide range of emotions in me, and to be honest, it’s scary as fuck.”
I laugh. “Back at you, Bradley.”
He laughs, and then he stands, holds out a hand, and we head downstairs to take a walk.
CHAPTER 25: Archer Bradley
Sunrise Yoga and Breakfast
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I can’t escapethemsince I couldn’t escapeherwhen I allowed myself out of my cage, either.
As we walk one of the paths through the tropical trees and ponds this resort offers, I see a silhouette of a couple walking ahead of us.
I’d recognize both Tatum’s and my brother’s gait anywhere.
“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Millie whispers beside me.
I shake my head. I feel like I should face all of this head-on, and you know what? This was my fucking resort first. I won’t be made to feel like I can’t walk around just because they’re here.
They stop, and Ford bends down to press a kiss to her lips.
And somehow…it doesn’t hurt the way I thought seeing them kiss would hurt.
She laughs, and he straightens, and they resume walking together. He slips his arm around her, and she leans into him. It’s as if they were made for each other…something I don’t think I ever noticed or acknowledged until this very moment.
Millie squeezes my hand. “You okay?”
I draw in a deep breath of the sea salt air. “You know what? Yeah. I am.” I glance down at her, and she’s looking up at me with these big, brown eyes filled with concern.
And for the first time, it sort of feels like I have someone on my side.
I bend down and press a soft kiss to her lips—similar to what my brother and my ex just shared several paces in front of us. But I put those two out of my mind as I feel Millie’s arms wrap around my waist. I pull her more tightly against me as I open my mouth to hers and deepen the connection we’re forging.
It feels like more than just a vacation hookup, though that could be my inexperience talking. It feels like she actually cares about me. Like she wouldn’t mind if we weren’t faking this and she actually was the person who could call herself mygirlfriend.
We don’t know each other that well, but she’s really the first person I’ve opened up to about what it’s like being a detached part of the Bradley family. She’s the first person I’ve confided in about how it hurt to see my brother marry my ex. She’s the first person who I’ve even considered allowing in since…well, probably since Tatum.
I’m starting to let her see the real me, or I’m trying to, anyway, and she isn’t running.
I’m not sure how long we kiss there on the sidewalk, tongues tangling languidly, bodies pressed together, hands moving and exploring, albeit in a semi-family-friendly way since we’re in public.
But this feels good. And being with Millie is the first time I’ve feltgoodin a long, long time.
Eventually, I walk her back to her room.
“Do you want to come in?” she asks when I lean on the doorframe.
“I do, but I also want to take it slow.”
