Page 58 of Best Part of Me

It sounds so animalistic, even caveman-like, and a bit of excitement thunders in my chest. But the events from the days leading up to the wedding begin stacking up in my mind, and it overwhelms me. “Thank you.”

“I mean...” he shrugs. “Icanthink of something better than snuggling.” He chuckles, all raspy and low. “But something tells me skinny dipping in the hot spring will be worth the wait.”

Maverick sets up the tent while I make a quick trip to the bathroom. When I return to our site, he’s inside the tent with the door left open for me. As I climb the ladder, my phone pings in my pocket.

Peeking my head inside the tent, I find Maverick sitting on the bed, shoes already off. There’s something about the coziness of seeing him there on the bed with his shoes off that causes my heart to swell in my chest. I usually only witness it at the end of our long days of traveling or hiking together.

A blush creeps up my neck, and a smile tugs at my lips. It’s a sight I could get used to. A practice I can see myself enjoying. A routine of climbing into bed with Maverick at the end of each day. It’s a silly fantasy, and I try to wipe it from my mind.

He zips up the tent once I’m inside all the way. With careful attention, Maverick slips off my shoes, one by one. It’s the sweetest gesture, and I have to resist getting wet over it. Like,who is this guy, and where did the sharp-edged Maverick go?I don’t particularly care where that Maverick went because this Maverick, this one who surprises me with s’mores and takes off my shoes, and knows how to get me off, is one I am desperately and rapidly falling for.

“Now get in bed and let’s sleep.”

And that’s it. I’m done. I am so in love with him. The way he listens to my needs and understands me. The way he takes care of me. It’s so fucking unfair that I can’t have him. That we can’t be together for real.

But even if Jones, for some reason, was cool with Maverick and I having a relationship, and even if my dad was, Mav isn’t looking to settle down. He doesn’t want to be in a relationship.

He crawls across the bed and pulls the covers back as we both get underneath. As he pulls me in close to his chest, I mold against him. With gentle pressure, he rubs a hand up and down my back, kneading the achy spots from days spent riding in the Jeep. And ridinghim.

The pressure in Maverick’s hands eases, and he presses a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead, and my eyes close.

“Mav?” I whisper. “Why’d you lie to me earlier?”

He expels a long sigh from his lips, followed by a lengthy pause before he finally speaks. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“You don’t have to protect me.”

He lowers himself so we’re gazing into one another’s eyes.

“It’s Jones...”

My eyes dance over his, trying to read him. “What about him?”

“He asked if he could meet up with me on my road trip.”

I stiffen in his embrace. “What’d you tell him?”

“I made up something about possibly needing to change my route because of bad weather.”

My limbs relax, but only slightly. “It’s September. What kind of bad weather would it be?”

He shrugs. “A wind storm? Dirt storm? I dunno.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t fact-check then.”

“My thoughts exactly,” he says.

“Jones can be persistent. If he decides to come, I’ll just...” My words trail because I don’t want to suggest it. I don’t even want to think it. I can’t go back home. Not yet. I can’t leave Maverick. But if I have to... “I’ll head home.”

Maverick digs his fingertips into my back, his hold on me even tighter. “No way. You’re not getting away from me that easy, Sunshine.”

But it wouldn’t be easy.

“We can’t risk it.”

“Fuck that. We’ll think of something else. You promised me ten days.”

The fierceness in his eyes, the hold he keeps on my body, his words, they make me want to come undone in his arms. It makes me want to promise him eternity.

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