Page 52 of Promise You Forever

I feel her warmth in the way she looks at me from across the table. Her understanding smile and little wink make my chest tighten. Something between us feels different.

I’m just drifting off to sleep when I hear a quiet knock at my door. I have to blink a few times and clear my throat before answering. There’s only one person it’s likely to be.

“Come in.”

Sure enough Eli pokes her head in and immediately begins to apologize. “I didn’t realize you weren’t awake. We can talk tomorrow.”

“No, it’s fine. I wasn’t asleep yet.” I reach over and switch the light on. My dick immediately perks up when I realize she’s wearing my shirt. “I see you helped yourself the other day,” I say with a smirk.

“I couldn’t find my clothes, so I grabbed yours.” She looks around the room nervously.

“Sit.” I pat the bed beside me. “Or do I need to let Charlie out?” I sit up straighter in the bed.

“No.” She holds a hand up. “Amber and I took her, safety in numbers you know?”

I’m not sure the two of them could hold their own against a bear or mountain lion, but I don’t want to freak her out. Especially when she’s been anxious about it. “Got it. What’s up?”

“I wanted to apologize for not warning you I was going skiing. It was insensitive of me to not even think about how you’d react.” She pulls at a thread on the quilt. “Not that I’m assuming you care at more than a friend level or anything. I just appreciate the concern, and I’m sorry for being a jackass.” Her words run together as she begins speaking faster and faster.

“Eli.”

She freezes at the sound of her name.

“Look at me.”

She slowly looks over at me, her cheeks stained the prettiest pink. I fucking love when she blushes. There’s nothing better than watching her squirm.

“You and I both know I care much more than just a friend level. My hands don’t shake, and my stomach doesn’t feel full of lead when Colt and Sam go snowboarding.” Though I do get nervous, it’s just not the same. Not even fucking close.

I couldn’t even concentrate today. Almost gave Sky the wrong hay and Marco the wrong feed. The worry was killing me, but I don’t want to say all that and scare her away.

The fact that she’s here, talking to me right now, means the fucking world to me. She cares enough to take my feelings into account. That gives me so much hope.

“I know,” she says quietly. “Do you ever think about us? Like what it would look like for us to maybe try again?”

My heart stops and then roars back to life with joy. It feels like someone plugged my body into an electrical outlet with the way my skin is tingling. I want so badly to grab her and kiss her senseless.

“Only every second of every day since August second three years ago.”

“Really?” Tears swim in her eyes, and I can’t tell if it’s happiness or fear. Probably a combination of them both.

“Do you really need to ask, Sunbeam?” I lean over and cup her cheeks. “I crawled for you. I lost my mind with worry today for you. I’d do anything for a second chance.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“You can’t keep things from me. No lying or omitting the truth or how you’re feeling. If you are having a bad day, tell me. Maybe I’ll be able to help. Or maybe I’ll just be there to hold your hand. I’m too scared of you hurting me again to have anything less than complete transparency.”

“Done.”

She searches my eyes and then dips her gaze to my lips. It’s all the invitation I need to press mine against hers. I kiss her with the tenderness she deserves, parting her lips with my tongue. Her fingers slide into the hair at the nape of my neck and tug until I moan against her.

“Are we going slow?” I ask against her lips. “Because if so, we should stop kissing.”

“Absolutely not.” She shakes her head and climbs into my lap.

I push the blankets down so all that separates us is our underwear. As much as I love seeing her in my shirt, I need her naked now. I grab the hem of the shirt and start lifting it off her. She helps and then drops it on the floor beside the bed.

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