Page 77 of One Reckless Moment

I pulled out of her and jumped out of the hot tub, grabbing my pants and pulling them back on.

Not to ruin a sweet moment, but what we did was risky—and hot as fuck. I wasn’t trying to actually get caught because we lingered long enough for her siblings to get home from the bar. Talking about how forbidden this was could get me hard, but getting punched again might ruin hot tub sex for life.

I grabbed a towel from the bin on the patio and wrapped Paige in it before scooping her into my arms.

Paige giggled as I carried her across the field, heading back to the barn. One look at her beaming smile and those three little words were on the tip of my tongue.

I watched as Paige tipped her head up at the star filled night sky and closed her eyes. Her curled hair was knotted and wild. Her pink lipstick was smudged. She was completely content, relaxing in my arms, and I couldn’t look away.

In this moment, I wanted to kick myself for wasting all those years of convincing myself that I wasn’t madly in love with her.

I woke up with Paige wrapped around my body so tightly I couldn’t separate an arm to check my phone. I chuckled deeply, startling her awake on top of me.

She groaned and nuzzled her way farther into my chest.

“We have to get up, Pip. Time to start setting up for the rehearsal dinner.” I kissed the top of her head and pried my arms out from under her.

“Five more minutes,” she whined into my chest.

I brushed my fingertips against her bare ribs, causing her to jolt. Quickly, I rolled us so I was on top of her and started tickling her sides until she was a puddle of gasping breaths and giggles.

“Okay, I’m up! I’m up!” she screamed through her laughter.

I placed my hands on either side of her head and leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips.

She gazed up at me, but the look on her face told me the gears were turning in her head.

“Hey,” I said, budging her nose with mine. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

“Nothing,” she said, nervously looking off to the side.

“Tell me.”

She looked up at me again and bit her lip, looking nervous.

“Last night at the bar, one of the girls said something that had me thinking.”

“What did she say?” I shifted so I was laying on my side, resting on one elbow.

“She made a comment about your parents not wanting you,” she whispered.

I stilled.

Paige’s eyes were worried, like she was unsure if she should have brought this up. “You don’t have to tell me anything. I just realized I don’t really know anything about your life before you showed up here.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I really fucking hated talking about my past. I had shut the door on it the moment I stepped under the rod iron sign at the base of the ranch driveway and never looked back.

“It’s not a pretty story, Pip.”

Paige reached up and cupped my jaw. “It might not be pretty, but it’s part of your story and you’re a wonderful man. Everyone has scars. They heal, but they’re always there, even if they’re hidden.”

I gripped her wrist and leaned my cheek into her touch before opening my eyes. She was like an anchor, keeping me steady as I voiced my truth.

“My mom got pregnant really young. Neither her nor my dad really wanted me. They tried for a while, but my mom struggled with substance abuse and my dad was a very angry man. One night, my dad came home from the bar absolutely wasted and started wailing on her. I must have been eight or nine, but I stepped in to make him stop.”

Paige gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. “Jesse…” She trailed off in a whisper.

I shrugged. “I remember him hitting me, but he knocked me out cold because the next thing I knew I was in the hospital with broken ribs, and social services was there. I was told that a neighbor called the police when she heard the screaming. My father was arrested and my mom was given visitation until she could get clean. The plan was for us to be reunited once she completed rehab, but she never came back. I was placed in a house with a nice couple for about two years, but then my foster mother got pregnant and they couldn’t handle having two kids in the home, so I was moved. I did about six months in another house until they moved me to the next. That went on until I was fourteen. I went to a lot of different schools and never really made any friends or real connections. When I was fourteen, I got placed at a house that seemed really great at first, until it wasn’t.”