Page 112 of Enemies in Paradise

“Bear, I gave it up for you!” Her anger ebbs away as I lean close, and she drops her hands from my chest, her fingers brushing my bare skin. “So you could have the pond where your mom taught you to skate.” Her words grow slower and her breath more shallow as I nuzzle her neck. “So your girls could play hockey. What are they going to do now?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out.” I draw kisses along her jaw. “Maybe Georgia’s friend Dexter will come through with the money for the community center. I don’t know, but I’m not giving up on my team.”

I pull away long enough to look her deep in the eyes. “Even if Grandpa hasn’t signed the papers yet, I’m not letting my girls on that ice again. If the pond were available for public use, someone else could try to go on it when the ice is thin. Someonewill.I hadn’t really faced that possibility until today. You’ve proven it’s not safe. Realizing that changes everything.”

“I’ve proven? Because I fell through?” As soon as the words are out, Cassie’s face shifts from growing indignation to dismay. She drops her head into my chest. “I did, didn’t I?”

“I don’t want to point fingers, but…”

“Bear… I’m sorry.” Cassie raises her eyes to mine. Her dark hair spills over her shoulders.

“Granted, only someone from California would think it was cold enough to go on that ice.” I slip my arm under the blanket and around her waist. “But there are enough of you Californians around now that it’s not safe to keep it. Not with all the houses being built around there.”

Cassie shoots me a glare, but the smile playing at her lips invites me closer. I smooth away her half-smile with a soft kiss.

She returns it, then gently pushes me away. “But are you sure?”

I let out a breath and lean into the couch. “I won’t say I’m not torn up about it, but it’s the right thing to do. I should have seen that a while ago, but I can be kind of stubborn sometimes.”

Cassie rests her palm on my cheek, turning my face to meet her eyes. “Or you were trying to hold on to something you love while saying goodbye to someoneyou love.”

Her words settle over me, slowly illuminating the thing I’ve been too afraid to face.

Holding onto a place meant holding onto Mom. As though my memories of her—my life with her—would disappear if the pond went away. Of course, I still love the idea of having a place Mom and I shared be a special place to share with others. That would make me feel like she’s still here when she’s not.

Now, looking into Cassie’s eyes, seeing the understanding there, I think I can find the strength to face what’s coming. And let go when it’s time.

The bittersweet peace that comes with that revelation releases a flood of emotions I’ve been fighting to hold back. That’s what I’ve really been fighting… not Grandpa or Zach or Georgia. Not Cassie.

All along, it’s been about fighting to not let my real feelings out. Fighting to keep my heart from breaking. Fighting the urge to cry. Fighting to hide how afraid I am of a future without Mom.

But as my eyes prick with tears and my cheeks grow wet with them, I realize how exhausted I am from fighting all the wrong things.

Chapter 37

Cassie

Bear pulls me closer,his hands lightly gripping my waist as he drops his head onto my shoulder. I wrap my arms and the blanket around us both. I didn’t mean to make him cry, but that’s what’s happening right now. He’s crying. Not only that, he’s letting me be a part of it.

It’s not just Bear whose shoulders are shaking and breath heaving. We’ve both had an emotional day. An emotional lotta days, to be honest. Between my work situation and his mom’s rapidly progressing Alzheimer’s, we’ve had major life stuff we’ve been dealing with for a while—before we even met on the fateful spilled coffee day last summer. And maybe, instead of facing things in a healthy way, we focused our anger on each other.

And maybe we don’t have to do that anymore.

I comb my fingers through the hair at the nape of Bear’s neck and nuzzle his ear. “Why have we wasted so much time?”

He presses our bodies tighter and his arms wrap around me, like body armor, but more protective. And there’s still too much distance between us.

“I don’t know, but let’s not waste anymore.” He trails his lips across my jaw until he finds mine, and whatever words were on the tip of my tongue get lost in his kiss.

All the energy we’ve put into fighting each other transforms into heat, driving the emotion between us. Bear’s palm presses into the fabric of the jersey I’m wearing—hisjersey—sending fire from the small of my spine through every vertebrae.

“I love seeing my name on your back,” he growls. His blue eyes swim with a longing that catches my breath.

“I love wearing your jersey.” I erase the gap between us and kiss him hard. “I want everyone to know I’m yours.”

Bear groans and deepens his kiss. My whole body responds, wanting him closer. We get lost in each other, gasping for air, fighting for more. We stop long enough to look into each other’s eyes and smile as though we can’t believe this is happening.

We get so lost in each other that we don’t hear the knocking at the front door until Georgia calls, “Cassie, are you in there?”

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