Page 64 of Seeing You

“That’s just sad,” Jade quietly replied. “It shouldn’t be this hard. Levi always said how much he hated living here in Sweetbriar, but now he loves it. Maybe if Marcus opened his mind a little…”

“I wouldn’t ask him to, just like I know he wouldn’t ask it of me.”

Even though he kind of already did…

“Been there, done that, and it doesn’t work. And…I’m okay with it.”

“Mm…hmm…”

“Stop doing that! I am! I’m totally okay with it!”

All Jade did was smile and walk away, leaving Billie to wonder if maybe she wasn’t quite as okay as she was telling herself.

“I thought you were here to help with your father.”

Marcus was currently kissing his way down her body, peeling her clothes off as he went. “I am. And this is my reward.”

Raking her hands through his hair, all she could think was how it would be hard to argue that logic. So instead, she hummed with pleasure.

“All day long, I dream of this,” he went on before whipping her panties over his shoulder. “I tell myself I can get through anything if I know I get to come here and see you.” He kissed his way up her thigh. “And touch you.” He gently nipped at her hip. “And make love to you.”

Billie gave herself completely to him—crying out his name again and again and again.

It’s just sex.

It’s just sex.

It’s just sex.

Sure, it was easy to think that while having sex, but when they were done and he was kissing her tenderly and holding her close, her foolish heart was telling her she was in trouble.

Big, big trouble.

She was falling for him hard all over again. It was so easy to imagine them being like this every night after having dinner together and talking about their day and making plans to go to the fall festival or the farmers market or taking the kids up to Summit Ridge for a day of fun…

And it wasn’t her nephew she was imagining.

It was their kids.

The ones they used to always talk about having, but never had the time because they were so busy building a financial empire.

“Hey,” he whispered, tucking a finger under her chin. “Are you okay? You feel kind of tense. What’s going on?”

Crap.

Snuggling closer, she placed a kiss on his chest and tried to think of a logical explanation for her tensing up. “What? Oh, sorry. Just a leg cramp and I was trying to will it away and not ruin the moment.”

Lame, Billie. Really, really lame.

Marcus gently rolled her onto her back and immediately began running his hands over her legs. “Which one?”

“Um…”

His hands smoothed over her right calf. “This one definitely feels tight.” Then he was massaging her, and it felt so damn good that she almost felt bad about lying. “Is this helping?”

She nodded. “Mm-hmm…”

“I know you spend a lot of time on your feet while you’re working. It’s got to be rough on your body.”

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