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“Gha—” is the only sound that leaves my mouth.
Owen raises one finger to his ear, folding his lobe out toward me as if trying to hear me better.
“Fine!” I bark. “Dare. I pick dare.” I am not afraid of Owen Bailey.
“Okay.” He nods and pats the space beside him. “I dare you to come sit up here.”
I huff out a breath. “Fine.” I move to the head of the bed, but not right beside him.
Owen hisses as if I’ve almost completed the task correctly, but not quite. “I dare you to move a little closer.” Again, he pats the spot right next to him.
I listen as if I have to. Don’t I? I mean, I already wimped out on my truth.
“Good,” he says, and though his turn is long over, he keeps going. “I dare you to kiss me. Here,” he says, tapping his finger to his lips, making sure this time there is no confusion over location.
It is a dare. The nerves pulsing through my body won’t allow me to back down. Besides, I kissed him earlier today. I can forget about the bed and do something I have now done a hundred times.
I lift my chin, my jaw brushing the edge of his shoulder. Owen lowers his lips to mine, pecking my mouth softly at first before going back for more.
Honest and true—I am very much a willing participant.
I’m not sure when Owen stopped kissing me, but sunlight now streams through the sheer pink curtains in this room. Sometime between a thousand kisses and silently assuring me that I amverylovable, I fell asleep in Owen’s arms.
It’s not exactly a terrible place to sleep–in the crook of Owen’s arm, my head on his chest, my ear pressed to the target over his heart. That tattoo whispers for me to stay. It tells me to never leave, to rest exactly where I am, in Owen’s embrace, forever.
That is, until I realize that I have some major morning breath.
Owen’s chest rises and falls with sleep, but I can’t rest any longer. And I can’t sit here with unbrushed teeth for another second. So, I shimmy out of his arms—it’s a gold medal maneuver—and roll over the remaining four feet of this bed, sticking my landing on the pink rug.
I blow out a puff.Whew. I am good.
I am also sweaty and puffy, and my lips are officially the strongest muscle on my body.
I peer back at Owen, still sleeping in that king-sized bed. Weonly used two feet across the thing. It turns out when you’re wrapped in someone’s arms, you don’t need that much space.
I nibble on my bottom lip and smile at the thought.
I can’t remember if he told me that he loves me a million times or just showed me. Either way, I’m becoming a believer.
At least when it comes to Owen.
58
Owen
“H
ow’s Kayla?” I ask as we sit in the back of Levi’s truck. Annie is on her phone once more, and I’m just assuming it’s her sister.
She blinks up from her smart screen, her body angled toward mine. “Oh. Um. She’s good.” Annie swallows. “Just wondering about Peaceful Valley.”
“I can’t believe I missed the whole trip.” Meredith moans. Her face is still pale, but at least she’s upright and keeping food down.
I’m not gonna lie—I’m not sorry she and Annie couldn’t share a room. But I am sorry she got sick.
“Owen took a picture of the lights for you,” Levi tells Meredith. “And I’m willing to come again—next weekend. Just the two of us? If Jose can’t work,” he says, talking about his one employee at the shop, “then Miles will do it.”
“I don’t want to take advantage of Miles,” she says while Annie and I listen in.
