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“Understood.”
Once again, they sat in companionable silence, but this time it was Jackson who broke it.
“So…where does that leave us?”
Turning her head, she looked at him. “Us?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Us.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
His boyish grin showcased his dimples and his blue eyes never left her face. “Last night I met a fantastic girl that I really wanted to get to know better and I foolishly never asked for her number because my life is a little complicated at the moment. Turns out…she is fully aware of all of it now.”
It was crazy, but she laughed softly. “That’s quite a coincidence because I met a great guy last night and I didn’t share much about myself for the same reason. And now…he knows way more than I probably ever would have shared.” Ducking her head, she shook it before looking at him again. “I really hate that Cash told you as much as he did.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s embarrassing, Jackson! Not the health stuff or the fact that everyone I ever loved is gone. But all the stuff about demanding to find my birth parents and marrying the first guy who asked was just…it certainly isn’t flattering to me at all. I came off sounding like an absolute brat one minute and then someone who basically has no common sense and poor taste in men.”
He playfully nudged her with his shoulder. “Well…you know I can’t possibly agree with the poor taste in men because…come on…you kind of like me, right?” Another nudge. “Right?”
“You’re ridiculous,” she said with another laugh. “But…yeah. I did like you.”
Pulling back, his expression instantly sobered. “Did?”
Why did he have to be so damn handsome?
“You have to admit that this is weird,” she began carefully, moving slightly to put some distance between them. “If we hadn’t met last night…”
“You’d still be someone I want to get to know.”
Somehow, she doubted that.
With a patient smile, she went on. “I think we can both agree that our relationships with Cash would make anything between us complicated. And honestly, I don’t think I can do that to him—add any more extra stress to an already stressful time. He’s genuinely freaked out about seeing all of you and if he had to worry about us on top of it, well…it just wouldn’t be right.”
She knew the instant that he seemed to agree with her. His shoulders sagged slightly, and he turned to look out at the waves crashing in front of them.
Sighing, Savannah said the first thing that came to her mind. “I don’t have any friends here. It would be nice if you and I could be friends.”
He hung his head. “Friends.”
“It’s all I can do right now.”
Glancing over at her, his expression was mildly fierce as he straightened. “I wish you had waited another minute before saying all of this.”
“Really? Why?”
“So I could have done what I should have done last night?”
Her heart hammered hard in her chest. “Wh…what were you going to do?”
For a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to respond, but then one strong hand gently reached out and cupped her nape before drawing her close. “This,” he murmured gruffly before touching his lips to hers.
* * *
Jackson knewthat every word Savannah said was true. Anything between them was complicated and could turn messy, but he didn’t care. If she was going to tuck him safely into the friend-zone, then he was going to have this moment.
For right now, they weren’t anywhere near Cash or his family or anyone.
