Page 41 of Waiting to Love You

“Yes, we have one day a week with only a few classes. Audrey and I take turns on who teaches the afternoon class. Today is my turn.”

“Interesting. I love how you two balance each other. I can’t imagine how much you worked before Audrey moved here,” he responds, taking a bite of his sandwich. “I’m sure Audrey enjoys having some free time to spend with Connor and the girls.”

There it is. The perfect chance to tell him why Audrey moved to Tyson’s Creek. To tell him how much help she has been since I had our daughter, giving me a chance to be the best mother I can to our little girl, but I don’t. It’s like the words are clogging my throat, so I swallow them down and plaster a fake smile on my face, hoping he doesn’t notice the change in my mood.

“Why are you asking so many questions?”

“Because, to me, you’re the most fascinating person in the world. I want to know everything about you.”

My mouth drops open as my brain seems to short-circuit for a few moments. For the first time in years, I’m speechless. This is an odd feeling because I always have a snarky retort or sarcastic comment for someone, but right now, my mind is completely blank.

If this was anyone else, I’d give him a hard time for trying so hard. That his poetic and flowery words are useless. That he’s trying way too hard for another chance to get into my pants, but instead, they give me butterflies in my stomach. I can feel deep in my bones that he means everything he’s saying to me with his heart and soul. And that is terrifying.

I clear my throat loudly, pointing toward the empty wrapper sitting in front of him. “Are you finished with that?”

“I sure am,” he winks at me, trying to put me at ease. “Let me grab yours, and we can head back to the studio, unless you want to take a walk with me?”

“A walk sounds good, actually.” I force a smile onto my face as he pushes back from the table and heads toward the trash can.

I can’t keep doing this to either of us. I need to figure out a way to let him know about Rebekah. I can’t keep lying to him. I can’t continue to be afraid that he will reject her. I would love to think he wouldn’t, but we barely know each other. Even though he seems like the same person I met over a year and a half ago, I could be wrong. And I can’t take that chance because my little girl’s happiness is at stake.

“Ready to go?”

I nod my head before gripping Seth’s hand and allowing him to pull me down Main Street, away from Nurture Space.

There are a few mom-and-pop stores lining this side of the street, but not many. There’s a park at the end where my mom and the girls take Rebekah if I’m teaching a class. Thankfully, I know she’s almost three hours away at my parents’ house. I usually leave her with Emersyn during the week, but she has a test to study for. When I was talking to my mom over the weekend, she insisted on spending some quality time with her favorite granddaughter. I didn’t want to point out that Rebekah is her only granddaughter, but I gave in. I hated the idea of being away from Rebekah for so long, but with Seth back in town, maybe putting some space between him and our daughter is a good thing.

“What made you decide to move to Tyson’s Creek?” Seth asks, his eyes focused in front of him as our arms swing slightly between us.

“I’ve always wanted to live in a small town. Being a military brat, we almost always lived in big cities with thousands of people. It never felt like a community, a place where everyone supported and cared for each other.” I smile softly as we reach the entrance to the park. “That’s what I felt the first time I came here to visit with Leia. Everyone asked her how she was doing, with warm smiles on their faces. Almost everyone knew each other, and they welcomed me with open arms. I’ve never had that before.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” he mutters, resting his forehead against mine. “That’s exactly how I felt the first time I laid eyes on you.”

A shiver runs down my spine as his nose runs along the shell of my ear before he inhales deeply.

“You don’t mean that,” I duck my head slightly.

A soft moan escapes my lips as he bites down on my earlobe, nibbling lightly, threading his fingers into my hair, and angling my neck to the side, trailing light kisses down my neck.

“What did I tell you?” he whispers as my eyes flick up to see if anyone is watching before focusing back on his face.

“That you never say anything you don’t mean.”

Releasing my hair, Seth tugs my body towards him. “That’s right.” He groans, brushing his lips against mine.

Unable to control the feelings swirling in my body, I lean forward, pressing my lips softly against his. Both of us moan as he grips the back of my neck, pulling me tighter into his body. He dominates our kiss, nipping and sucking my lip between his before thrusting his tongue into my mouth. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me. Nothing but pure, unadulterated desire courses through my veins.

But as quickly as it starts, it’s over, and we break apart with a gasp.

“Why don’t we head back to the studio before I take you right here in front of everyone?” Seth chuckles softly before planting a kiss on my forehead.

“Yeah. That’s a good idea.” I unwrap my arms from around his neck and put a little more space between us. “I have a class to teach, after all.”

Chapter 12

Bristol

“Do you have time to stay for dinner?” my mom asks as I strap my daughter into her car seat. “I feel like we never get to spend time with you anymore. If I couldn’t convince you to let me keep my granddaughter occasionally, I’d never see either of you.”

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