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“Not working worth a damn,” he says, and he grins too. Then he does it. He presses a quick kiss against my lips. It’s over far too soon, and I lean forward so I can chase him with my mouth. He groans, grabs my shoulders, and pushes me away. “I can’t. Not yet.”
“When?” I ask. I am absolutely filled with…need.
“When you know everything there is to know about me, and you get a chance to choose whether or not you still want me.” He suddenly loses his grin. “I’m afraid you’ll hate me, like everyone else does. And I wouldn’t be able to stand it if you hate me too, Abigail.” He tucks that flyaway lock behind my ear again.
I grab it and lift it in front of my eyes. “I’m going to chop this lock of hair off.”
“Please don’t.” He smiles. “It gives me an excuse to touch you.”
“You could just tell me whatever I need to know. Right now. I don’t think you could say anything that will change my mind about you.”
He shakes his head, a small frown worrying his features. “As I’ve told you before, I want you to be in like with me for a little bit longer. I’m not in a hurry to give that up.”
I reach out to touch his face, but he catches my hand, places a swift kiss on my palm, and then pushes it down between us.
He gives me a sincere look, as if opening his soul. “I’ve never needed anyone to like me, not the way that I need you. I’m so scared you’ll hate me. It was a stupid mistake, but there were so many consequences.”
I step forward and press my body against his, just as I lift my lips to his. I kiss him, and he kisses me back, his lips soft but firm, and he wraps his arms around me, his hands roaming my back, where they explore in circles as I kiss him.
Suddenly, he growls and sets me away from him. My eyes come open slowly, like I’m lifting from a daze, and my body rocks back toward him. “Thank you for dinner,” he says again. He grins and tucks that errant lock of hair behind my ear.
Then he turns and walks away. I stand in the doorway, startled only slightly when Wilbur knocks into my shin in his haste to follow Ethan out the door.
“You’re welcome,” I call out, finally finding my wits. He lifts a hand to wave at me, but he doesn’t turn back. I continue to watch long after he disappears from my sight.
16
Ethan
On Saturday, I walk down to the little free library that no one has used since the campground cleared out. I have two romance novels to leave in it for Abigail. I shuffle through what’s in there, just in case there’s something new that someone has left. I smile to myself when I find two comic books. I know she left them here because no one else I know would leave a comic book in a little free library. I grab them and stuff them into my back pocket, and I leave the romance novels for her. I drop the comic books off at my tent so I can read them later.
Today is game day, which means it’s “I get my kid for the first time in a really long time” day too. That means I have to feed him, but I have no idea what a seven-year-old will want to eat. I figure that if I pick up some random food, something will sing to him and he’ll be happy. The only place I know where I can shop without facing the town’s judgment is at the tackle shop, so I head in that direction. The bell tinkles over the door as I walk in.
I smile as I walk in and see Abigail leaning against the counter, shooting the breeze with Shy. She makes friends so easily. People love her, and I can see why. She’s friendly and she’s outgoing and she’s just damn-it nice.
“Hey,” she says when she sees me, and her cheeks get immediately rosy. She looks at Shy and he ducks his head trying to hide his grin. But when she turns her head back to me, he lifts his brows at me in question. I give a tiny shake of my head and try to brush him off, but he’s not having it.
“Hey, yourself,” I say. “I’m actually really glad you’re here.” I look around the store, a little lost about where to start. I look at Shy. “Can I steal her for a few minutes?”
“That would be up to the pretty lady.” He throws up his hands like he’s feeling a little defeated. “But why she would pick you over me, I have no idea…”
“I promise I’ll give her back.” I grab her shoulders and spin her in the direction I want her to go.
“What are we doing?” she asks over her shoulder as I guide her to the grocery section. “And why are we doing it?”
“Today’s Saturday,” I say. I’m feeling all out of sorts, and I’ve felt that way ever since I woke up this morning. I feel like my skin’s about to itch off and I can’t sit still. I know it’s nerves. And there’s more than one reason why my nerves are on edge. One is the game and the knowledge that I’m going to have to see the townspeople who hate my guts, and the other is that Mitchell is coming for his first sleepover.
“Okay,” she says slowly, her eyes narrowing at me.
“So that means Mitchell is coming to spend the night.”
She grins. “I know. Aren’t you excited?”
I nod. “Terrified would be a more accurate word.”
Her brow furrows. “Why are you terrified?
“What if he doesn’t like me?” I whisper-yell. Then I hide my face behind my hands and growl into them. “I hate feeling like this.”<
