Page 111 of Ever With Me

“I’m not doingit because I owe you. I’m doing it for you. Because I want to.”

He was complicated, but his simple statement told her something important. He was loyal and kind, and she wanted a man like him in her life.Even if I don’t know how to make our very different lives fit together.

Moonlight illuminated the way, the crisp scent of burning wood fires filling her soul.

Brooks Kent was only here for one more night.

But maybe he had something else in mind.

Going back with him didn’t hold any guarantees. No matter what, she wasn’t ready to walk away either.

30

MADDIE

Maddie had takenBrooks back to his place, but now that they were here, the weight of expectation choked her. Fortunately, they’d arrived before Kayla and Cormac, which meant they had the house to themselves—but for how long?

And what was the plan, really? Have sex with Brooks, go home . . . and then?

Rather than going to the main living area, Brooks had taken her to sit on the balcony of the master suite, which felt more private despite its sizable nature. A chimenea provided them with warmth—Brooks had lit a fire in there as soon as they’d arrived—and he came back from the kitchen now with a bottle of wine and a single glass for her, as well as a bottle of sparkling water for himself.

“Miss me?” he asked with a grin, setting the glass down on a small table beside her chair. He poured the glass for her.

“You sure you don’t mind me drinking wine?”

He nodded. “It’s not that alcohol is something I can’t quit. It’s that I don’t like—and neither does Kayla—who I become when I drink. Kayla asked me to sober up when she thought it was becoming a problem. I was always more of a binge drinker than anything.”

“And the sex and drug addictions?” She sipped her wine. They needed to clear some things up before things went further.

“Complete fabrications. What else do you want to know? I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Duke—straight-A student all my life. Valedictorian in high school. I was a huge nerd. There wasn’t time for dating and sports, so I played the guitar.”

“A nerd with the body of a supermodel,” she said with a laugh.

“That didn’t come until later. I filled out in my twenties. My manager got me a personal trainer and a dietitian . . . and I’ve been on a program ever since. Turns out sex really does sell.”

“Oh, I never doubted it.” Sex did sell, and Maddie couldn’t help thinking that he had definitely gained some skills in the kissing department over the years of his “transformation.” That also could be the wine talking since wine instantly made her hornier. “Can I make a confession? About you and my secret crush on you in college?”

His gray eyes lit with amusement. “Go on.”

“I had a verrry sexy poster of you on my wall. I used to talk to it occasionally, too. And the sound of your voice . . . has definitely made me wet.”Oh God, did I just admit that out loud?

Brooks’s lips curved in a devilish smile. “What was all that nonsense about not being a creepy groupie when we first met then? How you hadn’t listened to my songs in years?”

“I was wearing a towel when we first met. I was embarrassed enough. And it’s not like I fantasized aboutyouspecifically. Well, maybe once or twice this week, but that’s different.”

He raised a brow. “Only once or twice?” He chuckled. “You are painfully honest sometimes, you know that? Here I’ve been thinking about you all week.”

“I didn’t mean that.” She bit her lip, suddenly nervous again. But speaking of being honest . . . “I just—I’m not sure what I’m doing here. Whatwe’redoing. It’s been a weird week and I feel like I’ve been all over the place emotionally with you.”

He studied her for a few moments. “What doyouwant this to be?”

On stage he’d said he wasn’t ready to walk away from her. But what did that mean?

She certainly wasn’t going to demand a relationship with him. That would be crazy—they hadn’t ever even been on a date.

But something like a date didn’t really feel important somehow now either. They’d spent the last few days getting to know each other. Letting the other in.

Yet she’d also already told him she didn’t do one-night stands.

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