Page 97 of Catch and Release

Willa’s stomach dropped. “Yes.”

She’d been doing her best not to think about it. But she knew she needed to be honest with Shawn and tell him she had feelings for him. The boat ride around the Bay was fun, but she knew he was confused. She’d barely talked to him all day unless absolutely necessary because she didn’t know how to look at him without giving away the fact that she was falling for him. And she didn’t know how he’d react to it. She barely even knew how she felt about it.

“Listen, babe. It’s going to be fine. Just tell him how you feel. Be honest.”

“Oh, is that all?” Willa asked.

“Easier said than done, I know,” Charlie smiled. “And I’m not exactly a perfect example for communicating feelings. But you can do it.”

Willa’s eyes burned. “Remind me why you have to leave?”

“I pay $3,000 to rent an apartment in SF.”

“Right, that.”

Charlie laughed and tugged her into another hug.

“Love you,” Charlie said.

“Love you, too.”

Shawn came prepared tonight. He’d asked Grams if she’d make some brownies today, to which she happily obliged, and he’d brought a small plate of them to Willa’s. He wanted to give her as many reasons as possible not to end their arrangement.

Taking Willa and her friends on the boat yesterday was fun, and when she’d asked him to do it, he was more than happy to help out. But she’d still been acting distant, and he was convinced she was ready to end it. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

“What’d Ida make me this time?” Willa asked as Shawn came into view on the wharf with the shrimp bucket in one hand and a plate of desserts in the other.

“Brownies,” Shawn responded, extending the plate to her.

She squealed, and he felt like things were finally normal between them. She pulled out a brownie and thrust it into her mouth, groaning in pleasure before licking her fingers slowly. He felt his mouth go dry at the sight of her, his cock hardening as she winked at him.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Greene.”

She laughed. “Sorry. I wanted to talk, anyway. Then, maybe after…”

His heart soared. If she wanted to hook up after this, that meant she wasn’t ending it. Right?

He cleared his throat. “Oh. Okay. Cool.”

He inwardly flinched. He was trying way too hard to sound relaxed when he was anything but that.

“Want to sit down?”

They left the fishing rods on the table and sat in their usual chairs at the edge of the wharf. She turned to face him, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them into herself. She twiddled her thumbs where they were wrapped around her legs.

“So,” she said, then put her feet back on the ground and stood up, leaning against the railing. She crossed her arms, uncrossed them, then tugged her hair behind her ears. Giving him a quick glance, she said again, “So.”

Shawn smirked. “You said that already.”

She groaned and put her face in her hands. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”

Her voice broke on the last word, and Shawn stood up, put one hand under her knees and the other under her back, and picked her up. Willa yelped, and he sat back down, tugging her into his body. God, he could get used to this—holding her out here, burying his face in her hair, pressing her warm body into his.

He whispered against her ear. “You don’t have to be nervous around me.”

She shivered and buried her face in his chest. “I can’t help it.”

He tugged her closer, tucking her head under his chin. “What if you don’t look at me while you tell me whatever it is you want to tell me?”

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