Page 63 of Unbearable

She blushed, her cheeks turning pink because of me. “Hi.” She bit her lip, and it took everything in me not to walk up to her and kiss her breathless again right there.

“It was a nice wedding. Thanks again for coming with me.”

“It was beautiful. Daisy was stunning.” She smiled.

“Mark is a lucky guy. He’s always been head over heels for her, even when they were both eighteen,” I said.

“I didn’t know they had been together for that long.”

“Yeah, high school sweethearts.”

“Oh, wow.” She smiled, and a beat of silence passed before she cleared her throat. “So… about earlier…” she trailed off, avoiding eye contact.

“You mean the kiss?” I said, not wanting to beat around the topic. I was ready to get everything out in the open and to see where she stood with me.

“Yeah… that.” She bit her lip again, which only mademewant to bite it myself.

“I don’t regret it.” She finally met my gaze, and my breaths started to come in quick pants. “ButI don’t know if I am ready for this right now. There’s so much history between us, Trent. I know we said we would start fresh, and I am trying, but it is also hard to forget everything that happened. Can we just be friends for now?”

For now.For now.I can work with for now.

“So, you’re telling me I’ve been officially upgraded from acquaintance to friend?” I laughed.

She giggled her signature laugh. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“I’ll take it.” I’d take any crumbs she gave if that was all she was willing to offer. I knew I would be met with some resistance from the aftermath of that kiss, and this wasn’t a straight up no.For nowfelt like anot right now, but maybe soon. At least I could hope.

I opened my arms for her, and she walked across the room, stepping into me. I kissed the top of her head, soaking her light up.

We stood there for a moment before I broke the silence. “Remember the last summer before… before everything happened? How we just enjoyed spending time together? We watched a stupid amount of movies, went to too many bonfires to count, drank a lot of cheap beer, and took advantage of having no responsibilities.”

She nodded, pulling back and looking up at me. “Yeah, why?” Her blue eyes were hazy as she let out a yawn.

“Maybe we can try to go back to that. Or work toward it—but maybe the almost thirty-year-old version. I don’t think I can get drunk all the time.” I chuckled. “Maybe we can do movie nights and hang out, like old times.”

“I’d like that.” She smiled.

“Me too.” Her smiling at me was like there was a rollercoaster in my stomach. She let out another yawn. “But hey, it’s getting late. Why don’t we call it a night, so we can wake up and drive back home tomorrow?”

“Yeah, probably a good idea.”

A light knock on the door woke me from sleep.

Dotty started to stir. She groaned. “Who is knocking on the door”—she paused, checking her phone—“at one in the morning?”

“Good question,” I said, rising from the bed and crossing the room to look through the peephole. My blood started to boil at what I saw. After standing in the doorway for a moment, I glanced over at her, trying to hide my anger.

“Lilies,” I bit out, dragging my hand down my face.

“That’s justgreat. What’s the note say?” she asked.

I opened the door, looking down the hallway to see whoever had dropped off the flowers, but they were already gone. Bending down to pick up the note, I sighed.

It doesn’t matter how far you go. I willalways find you.

My fingers instinctively pinched the bridge of my nose. Dotty approached, grabbing the note from me.

Her face paled, and I opened my arms in invitation. She melted into me. The tension in her body was palpable. I rubbed small circles on her back for a moment.

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