Page 145 of Your Place or Mine

Because the woman I’d come to know in this short, wild stretch of time? She wasn’t anyone’s backup plan.

She was a damn force to be reckoned with, which was perfect for Reckless River.

I ran a hand through my hair and let out a long breath, still hearing how he said her name like it was his to use. The way he smirked like he thought I was just some small-town distraction she’d grow bored of.

He didn’t see what I saw.

The grit under her kindness. The quiet strength in her eyes. The way she could peel back layers of this place and make it brighter just bybeinghere.

I hadn’t wanted this.

I’d told myself again and again that I couldn’t handle this. That after everything I lost, it wasn’t worth opening the door to something that could end just as painfully.

But Lydia didn’t just knock on the door.

She walked in and rearranged the furniture.

And now she was in every corner of my damn mind.

I stopped at the end of the street and leaned against the railing by the river. The breeze was cool, tugging at the edge of my sleeves, and I let it wash over me like it could put out the fire in my chest.

I’d spent so long making sure I didn’t need anyone.

Even longer pretending that no one needed me.

But the second I saw that guy crowding her space, touching her like he had some kind of claim? That careful little wall I’d built didn’t just crack. It exploded.

I’d felt something primal rise up in me. Not just jealousy.

Possession.

Mine.

And that scared the hell out of me.

Not because it wasn’t true.

But because itwas.

Lydia meant something to me. Something real. And the more I tried to bury it, the louder it got.

I could feel it now…this undeniable pull to her. The instinct to protect, yes, but more than that. I wanted to be the one she leaned on. The one she called when her car wouldn’t start, the paint wouldn’t stick, or the world felt too heavy, and she needed someone to sayYou’re not alone.

I hadn’t let myself want that since Lucy.

But Lydia wasn’t a replacement.

She was a reckoning.

And that jackass from her past showing up like a neon sign was just confirmation of everything I already suspected. She’d been through more than she let on. And she didn’t need saving. But maybe, just maybe, she could use someone whostood beside herinstead of walking away.

I turned from the river and headed back toward the bar.

I didn’t know what came next. I didn’t have a plan. I wasn’t the kind of guy who made speeches or grand gestures.

But I knew one thing.

I wasn’t going to let her think, even for a second, that she was alone in this town.

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