His body tensed, and the easy smile on his lips flattened. She recalled their first conversation on the lake, how he reacted the same way to her questioning his songwriting. Butthis time, she knew how easily triggered he could be when pushed. She didn’t want that for him either.
“Darlin’, it ain’t that easy. I wish it were. What if the song is no good? What if I have to go crawling back to my father?”
She touched his knee, willing him to look at her. “You have to try, at least. Promise me that.”
Jamie shot her a defeated look, raked both hands through his glistening waves.
“Brinton, I appreciate you, but please—could we drop it for now?”
“Of course.”
It broke her heart to see him second-guess himself. Did he think she was projecting her own anxiety onto him? Just like she’d done with Eli, who blamed her for never leaving well enough alone? Brinton’s spine stiffened at the memory.
She pulled out her phone and took videos of the lake to distract herself, convinced that in his next breath, Jamie would push her away too.
Yet, to her surprise, his warm hands circled her waist. She probably should have wriggled away. They were still in view of the shore. Instead, she melted into his chest, soothed by his warm, soft breaths against her cheek.
“Thank you for believing in me, Bee,” he whispered.
“Thank you for giving me something to believe in,” she answered. Brinton held out her arm, snapping a picture of them together.
When she checked the screen, she didn’t care that the frame was lop-sided and her eyes were closed. He flashed a boundless smile, more at ease than she’d seen before. She felt the same way.
“You wanna go for a swim?” he asked. “I know last time we were on this lake, you were understandably freaked out, so?—”
Brinton didn’t even hesitate. “Yeah, I do.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
On the wooden swimming platform, Jamie waited to help Brinton up the small set of stairs leading to the raft. He’d already swam from the boat and pulled himself out of the lake, which felt more like bathwater at this point in the day. But the combination of the water and the sun felt as good as a baptism on his skin.
“You comin’ in, or am I gonna have to call the Coast Guard?” he shouted to her.
Brinton was still on the pontoon and fumbling with her purse. “I have to stow my recorder before you get any bright ideas,” she called back, sticking out her tongue.
That wickedly sarcastic tongue was another thing he craved.
Then, she did something devastating. She reached down to the hem of her dress and peeled it over her head, revealing a white bikini. It had a small red print—flowers? It looked like a fitted bra on top with a sweet little bow detail in the center that begged to be nipped with his teeth. His eyes dragged down to the bottoms. They cut high on the sides,clinging to those heartbreaking hips, and kissed her belly button.
When she shook her braids loose from her top knot, they cascaded down her shoulders and back in slow motion.
Have mercy.
This woman was trying to kill him out here.
He swallowed hard, averting his eyes before he needed to cover his crotch with his hands. Jamie crouched down, with his back to her, and busied himself with smoothing the nonexistent wrinkles from the plush towels he’d laid out for them.
“When you’re ready, swim over, and I’ll help you up,” he said.
A hearty splash. He turned around as her head poked through the surface. Her eyes sparkled, her smile blinding as she kicked and floated on her back like a mermaid. Jamie wasn’t big on fairy tales, but Prince Eric had it pretty good.
“Thought you said we were going to swim? Are you a man of your word or not?” she asked, laughing.
“Rude of you to besmirch my honor. Gonna pay for that, Shaw,” he said, diving in headfirst.
When he came up for air, he playfully splashed her, and she gave a generous splash back. They raced each other in laps, which she handily won, and competed to see who could hold their breath longer. Which she also won. Or did he let her win? At this point, he was too focused on how much he enjoyed the shrill peaks of her laughter.
Eventually, he hoisted her onto the swimming platform. They lay on their backs, letting the lazy afternoon sun heal what ailed them. Make them whole again. As her chest rose and fell gently, he wondered if she had fallen asleep. From this angle, he could finally make out the tiny cherries printed all over her bathing suit.
