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“Let me grab you some paper towels.” She snickers when she sees my mess.
Rowan goes to the storage closet and returns within a minute, and once I’m fully clean, I zip my jeans and redo my buckle. “You think anyone heard us?”
“Nah, the TVs are on, so if anything, they’ll just think it’s from the show,” she explains, but I know she’s full of shit.
I pull her into my arms and smile. “I’d stay and help you close tonight, but you’ve made me quite relaxed now.”
“That was my goal the whole time. You need to get some sleep.”
“Mm-hmm. I know, but I can’t help wanting to spend all my time with you,” I admit. “Does that scare you?”
She licks her lips before biting on her bottom one. “A little, but not because you want to be around me. Rather, it’s how much I want to spend time with you too.”
“You’re not used to being on this side of things, are you?” I flash her a smug grin. “You’re too used to running away while calling me an asshole.”
She groans as her head falls back slightly. “You better pull that ego back, or I’ll go tell Riley right now that you touched his little sister.”
“Is that supposed to be a threat? I can take him.” I puff out my chest, which causes her to laugh, and seeing the way her cheeks heat causes intense electricity to shoot through my body.
“Well, you just might need to start honing your fighting skills. I have no doubt Riley’s gonna think you corrupted me.”
“He thinks I’m going to use you, that I can’t manage a real relationship, and that I’ll break your heart.”
Her face drops. “Are you?”
I tilt her chin up to look at me so she can see how serious I am. “Not a chance in hell, Rowan. I’m risking everything because if I lose you, I lose a best friend and a family I’ve known my whole life, too. I’ve waited for you, and I’m not gonna fuck up this chance you’re giving me. Don’t think for one second I don’t know how lucky I am. I’m not taking a second of it for granted. You hear me?”
“You are risking a lot,” she says softly. “It’s only been a couple of weeks, and I’m already losing sleep thinking about you. The last thing I want is for our relationship to break apart friendships or cause any awkwardness in my family.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work, and if sneaking around is the only way I can have you right now, then I’ll take it. We’ll wait until you’re comfortable or when you think everyone else can handle the good news.”
She gives me an expression that makes me laugh. “We might be sneaking around a while then. Riley might never be ready.”
“Maybe after we move in together, get hitched, and you get pregnant with my baby, he’ll finally accept it. We wouldn’t have to make a big ordeal about it then because everyone would eventually just figure it out.” I shrug nonchalantly.
She snorts, laughing at my antics. “The never announcing it method. Sure, that oughta work. After the third baby, they might start putting the puzzle pieces together.”
I brush the wild strands of her hair off her face and tuck them behind her ear before leaning down and kissing her forehead. “We’ll figure it out.”
Rowan reminds me that she has to get back to work before Claire comes looking for her. We kiss goodbye, then I casually make my way out the side door. I wish I could stay and talk to her all night, but we both know I need the sleep.
Hopefully one day—one day soon—I’ll be able to go to bed and wake up with her in my arms, and we won’t have to hide our relationship. I’m falling harder for her every day, and it almost doesn’t seem real how strong my feelings already are. Then again, they’ve been lingering for years, waiting to be unleashed when she finally saw who was right in front of her the whole time.
CHAPTER TEN
ROWAN
I actually have the day off, so I’m killing time at the B&B with hopes to see Diesel later. Three weeks have passed since we’ve started sneaking around, and as much fun as it’s been, I’m constantly on edge and worried we’ll get caught.
It still doesn’t feel real. These feelings seem as if they’ve come out of nowhere, but Diesel acts like he’s been waiting his whole life for me. All the shit I used to give him now makes me feel guilty, though I keep telling myself it’s just a part of our history. Perhaps if I had seen him differently years ago, we wouldn’t be where we are now. I know us being together is still so new and early, but the timing seems right, and everything is so good. Trying to navigate a long-distance relationship while I was at college wouldn’t have been ideal for either of us. We both had some growing up to do.
