Page 98 of Love Me Steadfast
“Have he and Theo made up yet?” Emmie asks I head for the swimming hole.
“Kind of?” I shrug. Though things were tense between us after the tennis team party, Theo’s so busy with his summer job at a PT clinic and getting ready for college that we barely see each other. And I’m plenty busy with my own stuff—Morgan and Boxcar, summer youth symphony, and spending time with William.
“Now that you guys are head over boots,” Emmie says, “you’d think he’d come around.”
I smile. “He’s my big brother. Protective till the end.”
The biggest surprise was Dad. I thought he’d drop some kind of warning about teenage boys only wanting one thing, yadda yadda, but he just looked into my eyes and asked, “Does he make you happy?” It made me feel trusted, and free at the same time.
“I hear Nic Salazar’s coming back to the Limelight this fall,” she says. “Is Boxcar gonna open again?”
Nic signed with Valhalla and is probably going to record an album soon. “No, but he’s promised Mo an invite to the Midsummer Night’s Jam at Creekside next summer.”
“Wow, think your dad will let you go this time?”
“If Morgan stays out of trouble.” Even if the idea of playing at a venue like Creekside makes me anxious, I’ll do it for Morgan—for all of us.
William is waitingfor me in the Pavilion parking lot after summer youth symphony, leaning against the hood of his truck in a pair of jeans and a charcoal gray T-shirt, revealing sculpted arms that are already tanned. His deep blue eyes brighten as he takes me in with a lazy smile.
“Hi, gorgeous.”
“Hi,” I breathe as he leans in to kiss me. My lips meet his in a soft caress that quickly turns heated. I can’t help it. He smells like pepper and citrus. The craving to touch him everywhere sends my thoughts tumbling end over end. I cradle the back of his neck, keeping him close. His soft tongue chases mine, igniting a little spark inside me. It grows as we kiss, our lips hungry, impatient.
When he leans back, he’s panting. “Why is it every time I kiss you, I can’t get enough?”
I draw him back for another kiss, swirling my tongue with his. “Because we’ve been storing them upfor so long.”
He breaks away again, and slides his hand into mine. “Let’s go, blackbird. I have plans for you today.”
“Do those plans include more kisses?” I let him lead me down the porch steps.
He flashes me a devastating grin. “Yep. Promise.”
At his truck, he opens the passenger door for me and tips the seat forward so I can stow my violin and my bag containing my swimsuit and a towel, then helps me up. I steal another kiss, my fingers in his hair. He caresses my waist, his touch lighting me up.
With a groan, he pulls back. “I need you all to myself.”
“I like the sound of that.”
He grins, a wicked gleam in his eye.
“How doyou know what notes to play?” William asks, propping himself up on his elbow. We’re lying on a faded quilt, shaded by the lanky cottonwoods edging the river, our skin already dry from our swim. The shadows have grown long but the summer air is warm and sultry.
I cock an eyebrow. “It’s called reading music, QB.”
He laughs, his whole face lighting up. “So you just memorize every single note?”
I’ve been reading music since I was five. “You memorize plays, right?”
He caresses my forehead and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “Play something for me.”
“Why?”
He laughs again. “Please?”
Is he for real? I bite my lip, thinking it over. “I have a solo I’m working on.”
“Hell yeah,” he says, drawing me close for a kiss. A soft breeze tickles my skin and turns the light dancing through the leaves above us into a kaleidoscope of colors. His lips embrace mine, tugging playfully, but just as I reach for his waist to steady myself, he breaks awayand rolls to his feet, giving me a moment to drink in his muscular back and strong legs, the broad shoulders and trim waist.
