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Raevynn grimaced at that possibility as she rinsed the conditioner from her long, thick hair, wishing she could chop off the ass-length strands into a shorter, sassier, modern style that didn’t require so much maintenance. Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen, either, according to her mother, because then they’d lose millions in hair product endorsements.
Finished with her shower, she turned off the water and towel dried her body, then her hair, smiling at the wonderful silence that greeted her. She’d desperately needed this peace and quiet in her life and in her head right now, to think about her future clearly, without any interference from her manager mother, her agent, or all the other handlers Joyce had hired to keep Raevynn’s image and her brand squeaky clean.
And she owed Collin for giving her the opportunity. She thought about how much fun she’d had with him in Walmart, how many smiles and laughs they’d shared as they’d shopped. Despite everything that had happened between them years ago, he was still so easy to be with. With Collin, there were no pretenses or expectations of having to be someone or something she wasn’t. He didn’t treat her as a celebrity, didn’t look at her as an international superstar.
No, he still just viewed her as Rae . . . the girl who’d grown up next to his house and had been his sister’s bestie. And if she wasn’t mistaken, by the heat she’d seen in his eyes, the awareness in his touch when he’d held her hand, and the attraction that had sparked between them more than a few times tonight, she’d like to hope and believe he still felt something for her. That maybe now, he looked at her and saw the woman she’d become, because if a different and more intimate kind of opportunity presented itself, she wasn’t opposed to exploring that inviting option with him.
After braiding her hair so she didn’t have to blow it dry, which took her at least an hour, Raevynn wrapped the towel around her body and walked into the adjoining bedroom. Collin had placed all the bags of clothes and toiletries on the bed, and she rummaged through the purchases until she found the cute pajama set she’d picked out. After putting on a clean pair of panties, she donned the silky camisole and loose-fitting shorts, then made her way down the short hall to the kitchen and living room area.
The beach house was small. Just three regular-sized bedrooms, a functional kitchen, and enough space in the living room to deem it cozy and comfortable. She smiled at the fond memories she had of spending summers and weekends here, how Collin’s mother and father had treated her as if she was part of the family.
She’d loved that feeling of belonging. Her own dad had passed away of cancer when she’d only been two, and after that, her mother had focused all her time obsessively on Raevynn—clearly having a vision for her daughter even at that young age. Now, as an adult, she could look back and realize that Joyce had made Raevynn responsible for her own happiness—the beauty pageants as a toddler, dance recitals, singing lessons—instead of her mother finding her own life’s pleasures elsewhere, like with another man. Everything had revolved around Raevynn and still did.
She found Collin in the kitchen, shifting things around in the refrigerator, his bare, very toned, and muscular back to her. Remaining quiet, even though she really wanted to touch and caress all that smooth, firm flesh, she instead propped a hip against the counter, taking in the sweatpants he’d changed into while she’d been in the shower. They rode low on his hips and drew her gaze to the sexy divots at the base of his spine. Clearly, he had some of his own clothes here.
After a few moments, he closed the refrigerator door, and when he turned around and saw her standing there, a startled look passed across his features.
“Oh, hey . . .” His gaze briefly flickered to her pajama set, a quick but deliberately seductive pass down to her thighs that had her nipples tightening against the thin fabric and him clearing his throat before he met her gaze again.
Other than crossing her arms over her chest in an obvious gesture, there wasn’t much she could do about her body’s response to the heat she’d seen in Collin’s eyes or the way her breasts had firmed and peaked or the spiraling warmth swirling in her belly and lower. And truthfully, she didn’t want to hide her desire for him. No, she decided she was going to embrace it.
“I, uh, honestly didn’t expect to see you until morning,” he said, which probably explained why he was shirtless, not that she minded the gorgeous, overtly masculine view. “I thought for sure you’d take a hot, relaxing shower and crash from exhaustion.”
She glanced at her pile of junk food he’d left situated neatly on the kitchen counter and grinned. “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t be able to sleep with those Oreos calling my name all night long. A few cookies and milk to dip them in and I’ll crawl into bed with a big, happy smile on my face.”
When she met his gaze again, she realized he was staring at her features intently, making her feel suddenly self-conscious since it had been a long time since a man had seen her without an ounce of makeup on. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked softly.
In bare feet, he slowly closed the short distance between them, and she remained right where she was, barely able to breath when he stopped a few inches from her. She had to tip her head back to meet his striking green eyes that were filled with the sweetest, most honest affection.
“Because this is the Raevynn I remember,” he murmured, brushing the backs of his fingers along her cheek, causing her breath to hitch in her throat at that gentle but sensual caress. “Fresh-faced. A natural beauty who doesn’t need anything to enhance this perfect, flawless skin. Lush lips that are so naturally soft and pink . . .”
His words trailed off, as if he realized he was starting to travel into intimate territory. Instead, his hand moved to the hair she’d plaited, the long, intertwined strands that came over her shoulder and hung down past her left breast. As if mesmerized, his fingers slowly, gradually traced the woven pattern all the way down to the hairband she’d found in the bathroom and had used to secure the end.
“And this braid . . .” He gave it a gentle tug that was probably meant to be playful, but the suddenly deep, sensual tone of his voice vibrated its way up her spine and resonated inside her body. “Remember all the times I pulled it when we were kids running around my parents’ backyard playing tag?”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah.” At that young age, yanking on her hair had been a way to antagonize her, and it worked. “You’d make me so damn mad.”
He chuckled, the sound like warm honey sliding down her skin, seeping inside her. “And then years later, when I’d come over to your house at night and call up to your bedroom—”
“Rapunzel, let down your hair,” they said in unison and laughed. Unlike the fairy tale, he’d climbed up the tree next to the house and had managed to make his way inside her window.
“I want to cut it so badly,” she said.
He blinked at her in surprise. “Your hair?”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s just so . . . cumbersome.”
His hand fell away from the end of her braid. “Then why don’t you?”
“Because all this hair is part of my image and my mother and advisors would have a heart attack if I cut it as short as I’d like.”
“If it’s what you really want, then you should do it,” he said with a casual shrug. “It’s your hair, not theirs. Besides, what are they going to do once it’s gone?”
He made it all sound so easy and simple, but it was always the fear of her mother’s wrath and any related consequences of her actions that stopped her from walking into an unknown salon, where her personal stylist did not work, and ask for someone to chop it off to her shoulders. Unfortunately, she’d never had the guts to follow through on that particular inclination.
He tipped his head at her, smiling. “So, are you still interested in those Oreos?”
Grateful for the change of subject, she nodded eagerly. “Definitely.”
