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Her concern.
Her sadness.
The understanding in her eyes.
Cove may have been young, but I could see myself in her. Not having parents made her grow up fast, and I couldn’t have been prouder of the woman she became. She was strong, resilient, and didn’t back down for anyone.
I needed to know, so I asked, “What happened to that crush?”
She hid back a smile, loving the effect she was having on me.
“It lay dormant until a few days ago.”
Neither one of us said anything for a minute until she added, “Are you just going to sit and pretend you don’t have feelings for me too? Because I call bullshit, Jace Beckham. If that were true, you wouldn’t have touched me from the moment you got me alone.”
“You mean taking you to a sex party? That’s love to you?”
I was pure.
Innocent.
Naive.
She was the complete opposite of me, and it was part of her allure. I corrupted the angel in my darkness. The worst part was I had no fucking problem in doing so. I wasn’t alone anymore—I had her. With the devil on my side, I’d make her mine if I could.
If this were a dream, I’d never want to wake up. Not now, not ever. Her eyes held so much emotion, and her sincere expression was almost hard to follow. I had always been so in tune with what her eyes shared with me, and at that moment, all I could see was her love.
Her devotion.
Her sincerity.
My heart ached at the sight of her. There was no confusion on her behalf, and it wreaked havoc on the pieces left of me. I could physically feel her emotions, and I wanted to keep them forever. I felt her much more than I could have ever imagined. My control was gone, and I wasn’t entirely sure if I’d given it over to her or if she’d stolen it from me.
Did it matter?
We stared into each other’s eyes, seeing our truths reflecting back at us.
I wouldn’t cave.
I couldn’t.
Not when I’d end up breaking her.
Or worse…
I’d fucking kill her.
Twenty-Five
Cove
“I promise to be a very good girl if you tell me where we’re going,” I baited.
“As much as I would love to see how far you’d take that promise, I’m still not telling you a damn thing.”
The rest of our lunch was quiet, and I knew he was mostly thinking about everything I just openly shared with him. This man was a paradox of contractions. From his words to his touch, to how he was going out of his way to make my birthday special for me. I had no idea what he had planned for the rest of the day, but it didn’t stop my excitement for what was to come.
When we walked down the beach at Mullet Bay, there was a whole spread for us, blankets, pillows, a cooler, and a picnic basket all stationed perfectly with a hammock.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
He shrugged. “I just wanted to do something nice for you, so I did.”
There was a lot of thought behind his actions today, and I noticed every last one.
“This is really sweet of you.”
“You make it easy, bunny.”
Once we sat down, I acknowledged, “Thanks for letting me drive the fancy sportscar here.”
“I still can’t believe I fear for my life when you’re in the driver’s seat.”
“Jace.” I smacked his chest. “I’m just a cautious driver.”
“You hit a rim on the drive here.”
“That curb came out of nowhere.”
“Tell that to all the curbs you hit every time you drove Haven’s car.”
I giggled. “How do you remember that?”
“I remember a lot of things.”
“Is this what we’re doing today? Taking a walk down memory lane?”
“Is that what you want?”
I nodded. “How about you tell me one of your favorite memories?”
“You really want to go there?”
“Absolutely.”
“Cove—”
“It’s my birthday. You have to do what I want. Those are the rules. I didn’t make them up.”
“How convenient for you.”
I lay down on my side with my arm supporting my head, eagerly waiting for his response.
“If I tell you, this won’t end well for us.”
“Try me.”
“You’re very bossy today.”
“You’re rubbing off on me.”
“Cove, it’s not—”
“Nope! No excuses. Tell me.” I pouted. “Please.”
He sighed, giving in. “It was your senior prom night.”
My mouth parted, never expecting him to say that.
“You were coming down the stairs in a soft yellow dress.”
I think I stopped breathing.
“You’d pinned your hair to the side of your face and wore more makeup than I’d ever seen you in. I remember thinking it couldn’t have been you. You looked so grown up, so fucking beautiful. I was so used to seeing you as my little sister’s best friend, and for the first time, I didn’t recognize you.”
My heart fluttered, and my breathing caught.
“I tried to shake it off, but then my dad asked me to take a picture of the three of you, and I just remember looking through the lens and hesitating for a second. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
