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She moved her arm from his and grasped his hand. Her fingers were smooth and cool. Soft and comforting. “What did you talk about in the hospital?”
“Not much.” He tightened his fingers around hers. He appreciated the comfort. “We never wentthere,and it all stayed superficial. I told him about my job and about where I was living. He didn’t ask for any explanations—maybe he’d heard enough from Rachel. But he also didn’t apologize.” He cleared his throat because it was burning. “And I didn’t either.”
“He was sorry,” Steph said in a quiet voice. “I know it.”
Cal blinked against the stinging in his eyes. “Maybe.”
She studied him for a second, then she stepped closer and wrapped her arms about him. Just like she’d hugged him the night of the reunion. Cal pulled her close, quicker to act this time, because he suddenly didn’t want to miss out on anything she was offering.
He rested his chin atop her head and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of her shampooed hair. “It’s easy to believe my father had regrets when you say it,” he murmured.
“How could he not? You were a great kid, and your dad just didn’t have the tools to provide for you in the way you needed.”
“You’re being very generous, to both of us.”
“Hmm, maybe.”
He heard the smile in her voice.
She nestled even closer, which he didn’t mind at all. “I missed you, Cal.”
Suddenly all those other things didn’t matter as much—his dad’s rages, the months spent lonely in a new town, being on the run, trying to figure out a new life in Grandin … All of that seemed far in the distant past.
Steph was here, right now. She was real. And she was in his arms.
“Steph, I’m really sorry about disappearing on you.”
“I know,” she murmured. “And you don’t need to keep apologizing. I should be the one saying sorry. You were going through a lot of stuff—things I couldn’t even imagine. I should have been nicer.”
Cal scoffed. “I think you were the only one in the entire town of Everly Falls to see past my defenses.”
She drew away then, her chin raised. “You still have them.”
She was right, but it felt like they were melting away with every moment he spent with her.
Steph raised one of her hands, and her fingers traced along his jaw. His pulse responded with backward flips.
“Steph …” he whispered, moving his hands to her hips. “I don’t want to bulldoze my way into your life again.”
The edge of her lovely mouth lifted. “You’re in Everly Falls, so I think it’s too late for that, Cal Conner.” Her hand slipped behind his neck, and he leaned into her pull.
To be closer. To maybe … kiss her. Was that what she wanted? He didn’t have to question himself about that. There were so many reasons to not kiss her, but right now he couldn’t remember a single one of them.
He had to know, though. “Have you been waiting for me?”
She laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. “You still have an ego, I see. I haven’t been waiting for anyone. Like I said, I’m perfectly happy in my small-town life.”
He was hoping for a different answer. “And you don’t need a man?”
“I don’t.” Her smile grew. “But I really do like icing on cake.”
His gaze moved to her mouth, then back to her eyes. “Hmm. What kind of icing?”
“This kind.” She lifted up to meet him halfway because he was already bending to kiss her.
He wasn’t going to waste another second of this night, not with Steph in his arms and looking at him like he was someone she wanted to spend more time with. Her mouth was cool with the night air, but that changed in about two seconds, and soon it matched his in heat.
He still remembered their first kiss—ten years ago. But now, he realized, he hadn’t fully appreciated it. Teenaged kissing was like a fiery, frenzy burst that was over way too fast, followed by confusion and a bunch of questions.Does she like me? How much? Should I call her tomorrow? Was this a one-time thing?
