I fell back onto the bed with a groan. “Cruel woman.”
She laughed but moved to the head of the bed and patted the pillow beside her. “Get comfy. It’s a long scene.”
“I know you think you’re toying with me, but this is my second-favorite thing we did in this room today anyway. So win-win.”
She bit back a smile and started reading.
I got myself comfortable as I lay on a pillow next to her. Her soothing voice read on in the calm night. The heat of her warmed my side. I fell into her story, in awe of this incredible woman next to me. Thrown into everything, prepared for nothing, and managing it all.
She read. I laughed at a joke. I mentioned a line that felt off.
“I don’t think he’d say it like that,” I mumbled so deep into the story I couldn’t open my eyes.
“I thought you fell asleep.”
“How could I sleep at a time like this?”
“How would he say it?”
“‘My whole life has led to this moment. Nothing could stop me.’ He thinks they will understand later. The mission is all he’s ever known.”
“Good. I like that.” She lightly tapped a note on her keyboard; the sound was as meditative to me as an ocean sound machine.
Her rich voice continued, her yawns coming more often. I wasn’t kidding when I said she had an incredible reading voice. She could easily do this for a career if she chose.
“That’s the end of the chapter,” she said eventually. I heard the soft click of her computer shutting.
“Hmm,” I mumbled.
“We should go back up to the house,” she said as she settled onto the pillow next to me.
“Maybe we should cuddle about it.” I peeked open an eye to see her reaction.
She yawned. “I’m too tired to fight your charm.”
She clicked off the light, and I shifted to pull the blanket out from under me. She tucked herself in, and I instantly scooped her into the little spoon position.
I was just on the verge of sleeping but could feel her mind awake.
“It’s all going to work out. The book is really good. Trust me, I played a writer once,” I said.
She laughed against my chest. She grabbed my arm and held it to her chest. I was almost never gifted Frankie PDA. Not that this was exactly public. But her touches were so rare. Maybe there was some magic to this pool house. To the darkness. I would take whatever she would give me.
“I hope so,” she said softly. “Thank you for this. For helping. For everything.”
“It’s nothing,” I whispered, and she sighed into sleep.
“It’s not nothing, Harrison. Not even a little.”
I squeezed her a little tighter. But it was nothing to me because meeting her needs was a natural impulse, like catching a ball flying at your face. I would do anything for this woman. I’d never felt like my life had a purpose until I met her. If there was any doubt before, holding Frankie in my arms and listening to her sleep was the final clue.
I was so in love with this woman. In hindsight, I sensed it the moment I saw her that first day.
And with that came the horrifying knowledge that I would never be enough for her. I couldn’t be. I was filed in her mind as a distraction.
I may not be forever material, but I could be what she needed right now. I inhaled her scent and let myself drift off to sleep.
I would love this woman the only way I could, and then when she left me, I would try to find a way to survive.
The day would come when she would realize my best was not enough for her, but until then, my best was everything.
