Page 60 of Just This Once

“How so?” Finally, I pulled out a demi bottle of sparkling wine and two stemless wineglasses.

“I thought you were taking me to Trawler’s Cove to make out with me.” Her blue-green eyes sparkled in the fading sunlight.

My eyebrow arched, and a devilish grin spread across my face. “Do youwantme to make out with you?” I moved my eyebrows up and down and stalked toward her on all fours.

Emily snatched the crust of bread and tossed it at me with a playful squeal.

I crowded her space. The fresh, floral scent of her perfume surrounded me. Overwhelmed me. I pressed my lips to hers. She sighed into the kiss, opening for me without hesitation.

I wanted to drown in her.

My cock thickened, and my blood surged with the urge to pin her to the sand andtake. How is it that I was so attracted to the one woman I couldn’t have?

Determined to do this thing right while it lasted, I stopped myself, but not before giving her lush lower lip one last nip of my teeth.

Emily grinned as I went back to organizing our impromptu picnic. She looked around, her gaze landing on the crackling fire, and sighed. “This is... really lovely.”

Emily’s glance lingered as I searched for the right thing to say. “You deserve the world.” My words were soft, but I meant every one.

Emily smiled softly and hummed a curious sound.

“What?” I asked.

“You’ve been hanging out with my dad too much.” When I stilled at the mention of her father, Emily continued, but her attention was on her hands. “I had a messy breakup a while ago. It was... not ideal. Craig was someone I had uprooted my entire life for. A new job. A new city. For a few years it was all going according to my perfectly thought-out plan.” She let out a humorless laugh. “It didn’t work out. Then I came to Outtatowner, and I wanted a fresh start, but a lot of it just felt like going through the motions. Dad saw right through me, sat me down, and said,Melly, you can’t go through life like it’s a checklist. You’ll need tofeelyour way through if you want the life you deserve.”

Her deepened voice and impression of the chief was adorably spot on, and his words were a blow to my chest.

Her soft eyes lifted to mine, and she shrugged. “Sometimes checklists are easier.”

I swallowed hard. “Your parents are good people. You’re lucky to have them.”

“What about yours?” In the firelight, her eyes held a quiet curiosity. “My mom mentioned your mother is out of the picture, but your dad...”

My lips pressed together, and I shook my head sharply. “My family isn’t like yours. We don’t have heart-to-hearts and loving conversations. My mom disappeared when I was seven. Dad said she packed her shit and never looked back.”

“Oh my god...” Her whisper was drowned out by the waves rolling onto the shoreline.

I didn’t want her pity, so I pressed on, opening myself up in a way that was painful but in the quiet firelight felt somehow necessary. “My father is a hard man. His respect is earned. I’m thirty-one and not sure I’ve quite gotten there yet.”

“How do you earn it?” Her question was sincere and lacked any of the judgment I had expected.

“Doing what he asks without question or hesitation.” I lifted a shoulder. “Perfect example is your mother.”

Her brows scrunched as she sat up. “My mom?”

I nodded. “She’s part of the Remington County Historical Association, and they’re trying to declare a building that my father wants to purchase as a historical building. He wants me to try to talk her out of it. Dad saw my relationship with the chief as an in. It’s his specialty—angling for the win.”

For heavy moments Emily watched the flames dance. “You could, though”—she shrugged—“talk to her if you think it’s the right thing to do.”

I tossed a stick to the side, knowing that had never been an option. “What my father wants is rarely therightthing.”

Her eyes searched mine, and I stretched my legs in front of me.

“So what are you going to do?” she finally asked.

I looked at the gorgeous woman across from me, her features illuminated by the golden firelight. “I’m going to not worry about it. He’s managed the King enterprise without me for this long.”

What I left unspoken was the fact that Chief Martin and his wife had shown me more love than either of my parents ever had. They had come to mean more to me than my own blood.

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