Page 26 of Where You Belong

“I can join you,” Corbin says, slipping past Madelyn. “I need to, ah, grab something from my truck quickly anyway.”

Alex mutters, “Liar,” between a cough. He shrugs as his whole face spreads into a smile. Not the least bit bothered by being called out.

“We’ll keep Huxton occupied. Don’t hurry back now.” Madelyn giggles, flashing me a wink. Corbin takes my water and sets it on the table, leading me toward the driveway where we first came through.

I glance down at his T-shirt with “Navy Veteran” printed across the front.

“I didn’t know you were in the Navy.” I smile, peering at him from beneath my lashes. “I’m not surprised, though. It makes sense.”

“Why is that?”

“You seem like the type of man who would fight for our country. Loyal, honorable.”

He ducks his head and murmurs, “Thank you.”

“Is that how you met Gage and Alex?”

He shakes his head. “My parents have been friends with Madelyn and Gage’s parents since before we were born. They still are to this day. We grew up running around this town together. Alex met Gage serving overseas and the two became thick as thieves. He offered him a short job working at Compass Security, so he moved to Arbor Creek for a few months. Well, he met Madelyn not long after and the two of them fell in love.”

I nod along with him, smiling at the mention of Madelyn and Alex falling for each other.

“Listen, I’m sorry about Gage back there. He can be a little gruff sometimes, but he comes from a good place. You’ll see, I promise. He’s just been through some things, and, I don’t know, he hasn’t been himself lately.”

Corbin reaches for my hand, tangling his fingers in mine, and gives them a squeeze.

The sun is starting to set, turning the sky a mixture of orange, pink, and purple. It’s still warm, but the further the sun disappears, the cooler it will get.

We dash across the street and up my driveway toward my front step.

“You can come inside if you want. I should only be a minute. I just need to grab a few things for Huxton quick.” I pull the keys from my pocket and unlock the door.

Corbin holds the door open and follows me inside, standing near the entryway. He glances around, taking in our home before his eyes fall on mine.

I hold up my finger, signaling I’ll only be a second. It’s not until I’m in Huxton’s room, shoving his things into a bag, that I realize I finally have Corbin alone and all to myself.

As much as I’ve tried to distance myself from him, I can’t help but think about how badly I’ve wanted to kiss him since the day of the photo shoot. When we ran into each other at Oh My Goodies and he walked me to my car, I could’ve sworn he was going to kiss me.

I’ve wanted his lips on mine so damn bad. The day of the photo shoot had only been a taste, but it was enough to drive me wild.

Chapter Ten

Corbin

I stand in the entryway, my eyes scanning the collage of photos hung on the wall, ranging from when Huxton was born to his first day of school.

When I was texting with Haelynn earlier this week, she mentioned spending time one night hanging up some pictures she recently had printed. After seeing all of Madelyn’s hard work, she started to get inspiration for some of her own photos of her and Huxton.

There’s one of the two of them outside of his school. She’s crouched on the ground next to him, a wide smile on his face, missing his front tooth. She’s glowing with happiness, and I make a mental note to try to keep that smile on her face as often as possible.

She rounds the corner, and I step back from the wall, turning toward her. She has a small blue bag slung over her shoulder. Her eyes bounce from me and over to the photos on the wall.

“He looks just like you.” I gesture to the picture of them I had been studying.

“He does.” A thoughtful smile curves her mouth.

She takes a step closer, adjusting the strap on her shoulder. A foot or so remains between us, but I’m unable to resist her. I reach out and grab her hand, pulling her into my arms. I can’t pass up the chance to be near her, especially now that I have her all alone.

“Do you know how badly I want to kiss you right now?” I whisper, our fingers tangling together. Her body relaxes. She shrugs the bag off, letting it drop to the floor near our feet.

---