Page 285 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
But Tatum doesn’t want to be held. She tilts her head, catching my lips with hers, a sudden heated urgency to her movements that almost blocks every one of my rational thoughts. I recognize the impulse to feelin controlof something, so I let go of the reins and let her set the pace. I yield when she asks me to yield, give when she asks me to give.
I’ve kissed this woman countless times over the past few weeks, but the sensation never weakens, heat flaring to life between us just as quickly every time.
I am teetering on the brink of losing control, debating whether I want to give in here, on a rocky ledge in the middle of the mountains, when I feel another tear fall down Tatum’s cheek.
Okay.Whatever she’s feeling, this isn’t going to solve the problem.
I ease away, tugging her hand from my face and pressing a kiss to her palm. “Just sit with me a minute,” I say gently.
She nods and tucks herself into my side. I don’t know what she isn’t telling me—what battle is raging in her heart. I can’t make her tell me what’s going on, but if I can be vulnerable, maybe she will be too. Maybe she’ll trade her secrets for mine.
I look out across the valley and take a deep, calming breath, letting the silence settle around us. When Tatum’s tears have stopped, I lean down and press a kiss to her temple.
“Tatum, I broke up with Hailey because I caught her cheating on me with my roommate.”
Tatum lets out a tiny gasp before she sits up and looks at me. “Why would she do that to you? There is no number ofit’s not you, it’s me’sthat makes that situation okay.”
I manage a sad smile. “I recognize now that I was probably more serious about her than she was about me—”
“That doesn’t make cheating acceptable,” Tatum says, cutting me off, and my heart warms at her defense of me.
“I know. I just mean that because I wasall in,the breakup really messed me up for a long time. I was scared of getting close to anyone. Because Hailey knew me, and it turned out I wasn’t enough. She wanted someone else—someone different. That made me afraid to trust what might happen if I let someone else see the real me.”
“So that’s why you dated so much.”
I nod. “I kept it all surface level. Cut things off as soon as I thought I might start feeling something real. It worked for a long time.” I shrug. “And then you showed up.”
She gives my hand a squeeze, her thumb tracing slow circles on the back of my wrist.
“You blindsided me, Tatum. I’ll be totally honest—I’m scared out of my mind. But I don’t want to lose this. I want to be with you. I want us to be something.”
Tears well in her eyes, and she shakes her head. “Don’t, Lennox.”
My gut tightens. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t give me your heart,” she says, her voice shaky. “Because I think I might have to break it.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Lennox
Okay, so . .. not exactly the words you want to hear after laying your heart on the line. But my brothers said you can’t get to the good part of love without taking any risks, so I steel my nerves and place a hand on Tatum’s quivering back.
“Gosh, I’m a mess,” she says, wiping at her eyes. “This is just so stupid.”
“Tatum, just tell me what’s going on. Has something happened?”
Toby is standing beside her, looking at her like he can’t figure out why she’s so upset.
You and me both, man.You and me both.
Finally, Tatum takes a stuttering breath. “Lennox, my dad called me last night.”
Oh no.
My gut tightens. “Okay.”
“His network wants to bring me on for a show—one that would be my dad and me together. They actually pitched the idea to me a long time ago, but I told them I wasn’t interested. Only, Dad just told me they aren’t renewing his contract forhisshow. So ifI don’t do this one—the one we’re supposed to do together—he’s done. Off the network.”
