Page 14 of #Resort Romance
“I have, and I’m still right here for you to be close to. But I swear I’m trying to be the good guy here and not do something you might regret.”
Kelsey was already shaking her head. “I could never regret sleeping with you. I’ve thought about it for too many damn years.” The nervous laugh spoke volumes. “I guess I didn’t think I’d have to beg or even try to convince you to do it.”
Suddenly, the urge to be alone was almost overwhelming. She was mortified that she’d let herself make such a bold declaration and had misread the entire situation. But when she went to stand up, Jayce’s hand held firm.
“Jayce…”
“Hear me out,” he carefully began. “Stay here with me tonight. Talk to me about anything and everything. We’ll curl up in the bed and hold each other while we get caught up on our lives. At some point, we’ll inevitably fall asleep. And then tomorrow night, we’ll come right back here and sit on this couch and decide if we’re going to take things into a sexier territory. What do you say?”
Honestly? She wished he were stripping her bare because he couldn’t wait to make love to her. At least, that’s what the rejected and embarrassed part of her was thinking. The logical part knew he was right. She’d been overly emotional lately and he was the first person she really wanted to be with.
Sighing, she nodded. “Maybe you’re right, but now I feel a bit foolish. After all, I just…”
He silenced her with a kiss—it was a little on the chaste side, but still enough to make her melt against him. When he lifted his head, he stood and brought her back to her feet. “Come on. Let’s get comfortable inside. Then I want to hear all about your life, and we’ll talk about whatever you’d like.”
“I’d like to talk about what’s on the TV, but there aren’t any here, so…”
They both laughed softly as they walked into the bedroom. Jayce kicked off his shoes and sat down on the bed. Kelsey did the same and joined him. Then he wrapped her in his arms, placed a kiss on her forehead, and whispered, “Tell me about where you went to college.”
It was a weird way to start the conversation, but it was perfect. For hours they shared stories about their different life experiences, and at some point, Kelsey fell asleep.
And it was the best sleep she’d had in months.
Chapter Four
“I guess we’re staying in the good part of the resort,” Jayce murmured after he and Kelsey wandered down a path that led to about a dozen abandoned cabins that were surrounded by overgrown weeds. “They’ve done a good job of keeping this part hidden from guests, but…it’s kind of sad seeing so much disrepair.”
“Didn’t Walker’s family usually stay over here?” Kelsey gripped his hand as they got closer to one of them. “How could they let it get like this?”
“Walker’s never said anything about it. Anytime we bring up those summers, it’s to talk about the past, never what the place is like now. If I had to guess, I’d have to say that it just became too much for his grandparents.”
“And the family. Such a shame.”
He was about to step onto the porch when he saw the broken and rotted wood. “I don’t think we should disturb this. For all we know, we’re trespassing right now.” Most of the time, that wouldn’t bother him, but there was no way he was going to risk Kelsey getting hurt. “Come on, let’s go and see what kind of shape the boathouse is in.”
“Are we really going to try the paddleboats or do we need to go put on our bathing suits first?” she teased.
“Well, if our history is any indication, we should probably go change,” he replied with a laugh. “However, paddling seems a bit more our speed. It was the rowing that got us in trouble with the canoes.” Pulling her close, Jayce slid his arm around her waist. “What do you say? Are you feeling daring?”
“Hmm…I’m not sure…”
The thing was, he knew she was teasing. Kelsey was probably the most fearless person he’d ever known, and last night confirmed it. After listening to her talk about the struggles she’d overcome—between losing her father, her challenging career as a social worker, and then the loss of her mother—it was amazing she could still find anything to smile about. Jayce had marveled at her resilience, but he could also tell she was putting on a brave face. Coming back to the place where she had nothing but great memories, to do something so devastatingly emotional was taking its toll.
That’s why he was determined to do whatever he could to help her.
Last night, she had quite literally shocked the hell out of him with her proposition. If he were a different kind of guy, he might have taken her up on it. God knows it would have been amazing and a great way to forget about the world for a while. But he couldn’t take advantage of her like that. No matter how well they had known each other when they were growing up, the fact was that they were different people now. It was important for him to know that she wanted to be with him because she wanted him specifically, not just someone to sleep with so she didn’t have to be alone.
“What time are we supposed to meet your parents for bingo?”
“Um, we’re not meeting them for bingo. I mean…come on. We’re old, we’re not bingo old.”
Beside him, she laughed, and it was the sweetest sound. “I know we’re not, but it seemed like they were looking forward to spending time with you. The last thing I want to do is get in the way of you having time with your family.”
“Kelsey, I talk to my parents several times a week. I call my grandparents every Sunday. It’s not like they never talk to me.”
“That’s not the same as seeing you and spending time with you. So…bingo’s at three, right?”
He groaned.
