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She clapped her hands and sat back fully in her seat, humming under her breath. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“Me neither.”
Aria clicked the radio channel over and sang along with the songs the whole way, and as soon as we pulled into the small town, she gasped. “Oh my god, it’s like something off TV.”
“Yep.” I maneuvered the car through the central part of town which consisted of one street. “Everyone knows everybody—population is about four hundred.”
“No way.” Aria leaned forward, staring out the window at everything. I tried to see it through her eyes. The one restaurant and one diner, the small stores, the tackle store, and a boat store. It wasn’t until we turned off Main Street that we came closer to the house my great-grandparents had owned.
I turned and drove up the driveway, then stopped in front of the house.
“This is…beautiful.”
“Wait until you see the back.” I opened my door and rushed around to Aria’s side, grabbing her hand and jogging around to the back. Her laughter followed us, and I couldn’t help join in with her. We were carefree, nothing and nobody to bother us. “This is one of my favorite places to be,” I told her, slowing down as the lake came into view.
“Oh, wow…it’s so peaceful, like a painting.”
“I know, right?” I pushed my fingers between hers and held them against my chest, bringing her onto the dock which had several small boats attached to it. “Dad and Lola sit out here for hours when we come here on vacation. They always said there was something about this place that called to them, and I never understood, not until now.”
Looking down at Aria, I waited for her to meet my stare, and when she did, she whispered, “Why only now?”
“Because of you.” I stepped closer to her, letting her hand go and wrapping my arm around her waist. “You made me realize what I was missing.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “I did?”
“Yeah, baby.” I drifted my palm to the side of her face and dipped down. “You did.” I pressed my lips against hers. I tried to control myself and not let things get too hot and heavy, but it was almost an impossible task when it came to Aria. She made me go insane, and I loved every second of it.
She shivered in my arms, and as much as I’d like to think it was because of me, I knew it was the temperature dropping. “Let’s head inside.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and walked us back around to my car. I handed her the front door key as I got our bags out, and just as she was pushing the door open, I was right behind her. “We’ll sleep in my room,” I told her. We could have stayed in the master, but knowing Dad and Lola always slept in there freaked me out.
“Whose house was this before your dad had it?”
“His grandparents.” I pushed open my bedroom door. “He used to spend loads of time here as a kid. That’s what he told us anyway.” I stepped back so she could enter the room.
She pushed some of her dark-red hair behind her ear and smiled down at the bed. It wasn’t a single, but it definitely wasn’t as big as the one in my house she’d said she loved so much. “I love it.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Could you pass me my bag? I need to make sure I packed all my medication. I have a gut feeling I may have left a bottle behind.”
My heart hammered in my chest as I passed her the bag, and I didn’t move an inch as she pulled all the contents out and produced her orange pill bottles.
“Nope.” Her shoulders sagged in relief. “I remembered them all.”
A breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding burst out of me, and I sobered as I stood there, watching her hold her pills. Everything would be a constant battle for her. She’d always struggle with her moods and the craving to self-harm, and the question was whether I wanted to be by her side, supporting her the whole way.
I shook my head. It was never a question. I’d be there every step of the way.
* * *
ARIA
“Why is it so slippy?” I yelled, trying to keep the fish I’d caught in the palm of my hands. It wasn’t even that big, not compared to the ones Cade had expertly caught, but I was damn proud, and I needed a photo to commemorate it.
“Because it’s a fish?” Cade commented, and I glanced up at him. He held his cell up as he took a picture, but his lips were spread in a wide grin. He thought this was funny, me trying to wrestle this small fish long enough before we put it back into the lake.
“You’re so funny.” I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. We’d had the best day, and even after being out on the lake for five hours and only now just catching my first fish, I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to stay here forever, just me and him and the vast open space.
Cade moved closer to me on the boat, causing it to rock side to side, and me to squeal. “Come’re,” he said, his voice low and demanding, and dammit, it hit me in all the right places. I moved closer to him, like sails in the wind, my gaze not leaving his until the fish started to squirm again.
“Got it,” he said.
“Got wha
