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Everly leaned close to be heard above the crowd. “He did. He said he had some yard work to do.”
Blake lifted his chin toward Remi. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Remi’s smile was as wide as her face as she wiggled her fingers at them in a wave. “You two have fun.”
Blake’s strong hand wrapped around Everly’s, and he led her out of the dining hall. Outside, guests were everywhere, talking and laughing or heading to the fire pit behind the dining hall.
Everly kept pace with Blake, but her steps were closer to a speed walk than his. Instead of walking toward the parking lot, he led her to the check-in office. The lights in the gift shop were off, and the bell above the door chimed.
“Just me, Ava!” Blake shouted.
The light in Ava’s office down the hall shone into the hallway. “Thanks!” she yelled.
Blake dragged Everly to the dark corner of the small office and pulled her close.
Everly had no idea where things were going, but the racing of her heart urged her an extra step closer to Blake. “What was that?” she whispered.
Blake took a deep breath as if gathering his resolve. “Just pouring my heart out.”
Yep, this was it. Everly’s heart might explode before they got home. “In front of everyone?”
Blake rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I should have thought about that.”
“It’s not that,” Everly said quickly. Then, her words slowed. “You want to kiss me?”
It was dark in the office, but the faint light of the moon illuminated Blake’s face. He looked down at her with eyes full of anticipation. “More than you can imagine.”
A faint breath escaped before she could contain it. “Since when?”
“Are you going to look at me differently if I say since day one?” Blake asked.
Everly took a few slow breaths before whispering, “Wow.”
Blake chuckled low. “Could you say some more words so I know what you’re thinking?”
“I want to kiss you too,” she whispered. Maybe it was the darkness giving her courage, but she wanted Blake.
He threaded his fingers in her hair, gently tilting her face up to look directly at him. “This kills me to say, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Well, that was a cold shock. “What? Why? I thought you wanted to,” she stammered.
“Want to? Yes. Should? No.” He shook his head slowly, letting the weight of those words sink in.
Never had her emotions been so erratic. She’d been shoved into thoughts of kissing Blake tonight, and now that possibility was running away as fast as it had come.
Blake brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, but even the soft touch couldn’t hide the calluses on his fingertips. “We’re living together. That kind of complicates things.”
All of the wind rushed out of Everly’s lungs. “Oh.”
“Right. And while there would be certain lines that we could verbalize between us, those lines could get blurry. I need lines around you. I needallthe lines, and those lines need more lines.”
Everly chuckled. “Are you saying I’m tempting?”
“Stop that. This is serious,” Blake said. “You’re incredibly tempting. All day. Every day. You could be covered in green avocado goop, and I would have a hard time keeping my hands off you.”
Everything with Blake was new tonight, but it was new in a familiar and comforting way. Why did that make this separation even harder? “Okay, I get it. I get it.”
“Are you sure? I have a long list of Everly’s daily temptations. I add to it every night when I can’t sleep because I know you’re right across the hallway,” Blake said, though his tone wasn’t the same he used for his other jokes.
