Page 74 of Rewrite Our Story

She giggles. It’s the most perfect sound. I can feel it up against my chest. “I think I’ll keep them to myself…for now.”

I grunt, once again fighting the urge to tell her that I’m madly in love with her. It’s one of those things that once you see it, you can’t unsee it. That’s my love for her. I think it’s been there all along. I just hadn’t known until she forced me to confront it.

Reaching over my shoulder, I grab the little basket of bath items. I grab a bottle of soap and a washcloth. I dip the washcloth in the warm water and squeeze soap onto it. Mare doesn’t say anything. She keeps her back pressed to mine, her eyes trained ahead as I swipe the washcloth across her skin.

“How are you feeling?”

“Happy.”

My hand stills. That wasn’t what I meant when I asked her that, but her words still steal my attention.

Because I’ve never felt happier. But I’ve also never felt more sad—more scared. Because happiness can be fleeting, and if she brings this much happiness, what happens when she leaves? Her leaving is inevitable. The date of her move is looming.

I’ll lose her and Pippa at the same time.

It’s not something I want to think about.

“Are you happy, Cade?”

“Yeah, Goldie,” I manage to get out. “I am.”

She pulls her knees to her chest and rests her cheek on her knee. Her smile is wide and bright. “Then I don’t just feel happy. I feel perfect. Now stop worrying about me.”

39

MARE - PRESENT

Nerves coursethrough my body as I get off the bed and tiptoe to my bedroom door, my mind fixed on making my way to Cade. I know I shouldn’t be doing this. Before anything else happens between us, we need to have a long talk about what we are, about what’s happening between us. But I doubt that’ll happen.

We’re like magnets. Unable to deny the temptation between us, no matter how hard we fight it.

I stop in front of my door, wondering if maybe I shouldn’t go to him. Even Pippa could tell something was wrong with me when we had dinner tonight. She kept asking me why I was acting weird and I couldn’t answer her. Her questions were just another reminder of something else Cade and I need to talk about.

If we’re going to keep doing this, we need to tell Pippa.

I’m second guessing everything that’s happening between Cade and I when my door is pushed open.

“I couldn’t wait a second longer,” he growls out. Before I can respond, he grabs me by the hips and pulls me into his body. The door slams shut, making my heart race.

“Cade,” I scold, “Pippa could’ve heard that.”

He grabs both sides of my face and backs me into the closed door. God, why does he have to look so good in the moonlight shining through my window? “I really don’t care if Pippa hears. What I do care about is the fact I had to come find you.”

I melt into his touch as he tilts my head sideways, giving himself better access to my throat. He kisses along my jaw, his lips caressing the tender spot underneath my ear.

“I was seconds away from showing up at your door,” I confess.

“About fucking time.”

“You had to give me time to let Pippa go to bed. Plus, you put me in the room farthest away from anything in the house.”

“I didn’t trust myself around you, Goldie. For good reason, look at us.”

My eyes flutter shut as he nips at my skin. A moan falls from my lips when his tongue caresses away the pain from the bite. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll probably break my fucking heart again, yet here I am, unable to resist you.”

“Cade.” My hands find his chest. I mean to push him away, but I end up pulling him closer instead.

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