Page 65 of Beachside Kisses With My Best Friend

Jordan hesitates, then nods, disappearing and reappearing in his usual fare before he exhales and climbs into the other side of the bed. He leaves an entire foot of space between us.

I arch an eyebrow. “You think I have cooties or something, Jay?”

“What? No.” Another exhalation. “I know we haven’t talked yet, and I didn’t want to…presume.”

This sweet man. I scoot over to him and lift his arm around my shoulders, snuggling up against him. “No matter what we say tonight, the basics will not—cannot—change.”

He relaxes against me. “And what are the basics?”

“You and me have each other’s backs. Forever.”

His breath warms my ear as he sets his mouth against the side of my head. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Whatever happens, we will always be in each other’s lives.” I place a hand flat on his chest under the comforter. “Deal?”

“Deal.” His free hand covers mine. “Do we need to add it to the contract?”

I love this guy’s ability to tease me, to make me laugh, even when we are navigating something new between us. “Could be we need to renegotiate some of the terms of said contract.”

His finger traces the top of my hand. “You think so, huh?”

“I do.” Pushing myself back up, I turn to face him, my hand still lying against his heart as I peer through the starlight into his eyes. He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, and I don’t know why it took me so long to realize it, so long to face the fact that I’ve probably been in love with him for a good while now.

“Jay, I didn’t want to kiss you last night simply because you’re the opposite of Donny. It’s because you’reyou.”

His eyes flicker. “So, it wasn’t just because I punched that scumbag and stood up for you?” The fingers that were around me fall to my right shoulder, and Jordan’s thumb draws a line down the delicate strap of my shirt, leaving fire in its wake.

“Well, that definitely helped.” I laugh and push against his chest. He holds tight to my hand, and I grow serious again. “Nobody has ever treated me with the tender care that you have. I convinced myself for so long that it was just as a friend, because I couldn’t accept the idea that you’d think of me as anything more.”

“Why, Lee?”

“You know why. I didn’t think I was worthy of the kind of love you showed me day in and day out. As a friend, I could accept it, but as more than that, I just couldn’t.” My lips press together. “Speaking of presumptions, I know I’m presuming a lot here…”

His hand slides up the side of my neck, fingers teasing into the roots of my hair, which is up in its usual bun. “I think you can safely presume away.” Jordan straightens and draws closer to me. “Marilee Moffitt, everyone is worthy of love, but most especially you. You are an angel to everyone around you, leaving sprinkles of sunshine wherever you go. You’ve brightened my life from the moment I first laid eyes on you baking in our home economics class.”

I laugh at the memory. “Talk about a mess.”

“A beautiful mess.” Reaching up, he gives the rubber band in my hair a gentle tug and tosses it aside. As my hair falls around my shoulders, I feel the softness of it against my skin. Jordan presses closer, and his hand plunges deeper, nudging me forward until we are nose to nose, breath mingling. “That day changed my life forever. It was the day I first saw you. The day I first fell for you.”

“What?” I can’t help but laugh out the question, awe filling my chest at the pure devotion in his tone, at the crazy words he’s speaking. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’ve loved you half of my life, Lee… And I don’t think I’ll ever stop.”

Oh, this man. This wonderful, beautiful man. “I love you too, Jay. And I?—”

But I don’t get to say any more, because he hauls me up and over his lap, where he holds me close and kisses me like there’s no yesterday or tomorrow.

Just today.

Just us.

Just this tent, and this bed, and this moment.

Just his hands skating up the sides of my thighs until our breaths are one and the same as we give and take years of love and wanting. Secret longing, now exposed.

His lips move to my neck, the movement curling my toes with delicious pleasure that expands when his attention moves to the hollow of skin above my collarbone, nerves popping one by one. Then he captures my lips again and the kiss deepens quickly, a small sound escaping my throat as his tongue traces my bottom lip.

And I can’t help but melt into Jordan.

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