Page 41 of Love You From Afar

“I guess I’m just stunned that you attempted to give me a compliment,” I smirk, pivoting my feet to lead us across the dance floor.

“Me, givingyoua compliment? You’re getting ahead of yourself now,” she chuckles, nuzzling her cheek against my chest before lowering her voice.

“I have to admit, though… The broody lumberjack look totally works for you,” she says in a shy tone.

My chest rumbles with laughter at her compliment.

“Broody lumberjack?What the hell does that even mean?”

She rolls her eyes, tossing me a shy smirk.

“I read a lot of romance books. You wouldn’t understand, but the broody lumberjack look isdefinitelya thing.”

I arch a brow, nodding my head.

“Well, at least I have that going for me,” I scoff.

Our playful banter slowly shifts to comfortable silence. I hold Skylar’s body close to mine as we sway around the dance floor. I breathe in her scent, my lungs filling with a familiar aroma of vanilla and honey. It’s as if my fingers have a mind of their own as I brush soft circles against her hip. My lips ache to press against her forehead… to feel her skin on my lips, but I push down the desire for obvious reasons.

“Everett.” My name falls from her lips in a whispered prayer.

“Hmm?” I’m practically humming.

It feels so fucking surreal to have her body pressed against mine. Never in a million years would I have imagined feeling this again. I never want to leave this dance floor. We can just stay here until the end of time for all I care.

“Why are you so nice to me?” She asks softly. “After what I did to you, why are you so sweet to me?” My breath hitches at her question.

I remove my hand from hers, gently taking her chin between my fingers. I tilt her head up until she’s staring directly into my eyes. I make sure I have her full attention before I continue speaking.

“Because you deserve it,” I rasp.

I slowly skim my hand from her chin to her jaw before sliding my fingers into her silky hair.

“You deserve a man that wants to show you off and take you dancing. You deserve a man that treats you like the center of his world,” I exhale. “I’m not saying that I’m that man… I just want you to know that you deserve it.”

My heart beats a mile a minute as she stares up at me through big, blue eyes, her gaze sparkling with a sea of unnamed emotions. Her eyes flicker down to my lips at the same time her cheeks flush to an alluring shade of crimson. Her hand slips from mine, and I immediately worry that I’ve crossed a line. But she shocks me as she wraps her free arm around my back, pulling us even closer than before.

We hold on to each other in the middle of the dance floor, completely unaware of our surroundings. I have no clue if the song has ended because all I can hear is the mixture of our rapid breaths.

She tilts her head further back, and I take it as an invitation. It goes against everything I’ve tried to bury over the years, but I need to feel her lips against mine.I need it like water.

I know that she’s my brother’s girl, but she was also his then. I wanted her then, but Ineedher now.

Everyone who knows me thinks I have my shit together, but I’m the only one who really knows the truth. The past three years have been fucking hell. Not one day has gone by where I haven’t thought about Skylar Wood, my brother’s fiancé. I’m only hurting myself by doing this, but fuck it, what could be worse than how I’ve been living since she walked away?

I’ve denied myself relationships, physical intimacy, and so much more because I can't get over this magnetic woman who has her arms wrapped around me like I might disappear into thin air if she lets go. For all I know, this could be my last chance to hold her, or feel the warm slide of her tongue against mine… and I’m not about to let that go.

I exhale a shaky breath, dipping my head until the tip of her nose brushes against mine. I tighten my grip in her hair while massaging her cheek with my thumb. Her eyes dart back and forth between mine, silently begging me to fuck the consequences and just do it. Her lips are less than a breath away when a loud buzzing interrupts us, vibrating between the sealed heat of our bodies.

“Shit,” Skylar curses under her breath, clutching a hand over her heart as she steps back from my hold. Her chest heaves up and down with heavy breaths as she pulls her phone from her pocket. I instantly feel the loss of her body pressed against mine. I run a hand through my hair in frustration, unable to hide my disappointment. I can’t see who’s calling her, but I decide that I’ll hate them forever for ruining this moment.

“You gonna get that?” I ask, nodding my head toward her phone. She just stares at the screen with a blank expression, like she doesn’t know what to do.

“It’s um… It’s Elliot,” she croaks.Yeah, I definitely hate the person calling her.

She finally looks up, shame and pity etched across her face. Her brows pinch together in remorse because she knows what she has to do. She’s going to answer the call because it’s her fiancé. I’m just the brother… the soon-to-be brother-in-law.That’s all I’ll ever be.If I needed a reality check, this was it.

I nod before giving her a weak smile. I turn my back, giving her privacy as I walk off the dance floor.

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