Page 58 of Love Inn Books

“I don’t know how,” she admits. “Do you?”

“Yeah,” I say, pulling her up with me.

“Of course you do, DW,” she teases, but this time her smile is sweet and seductive.

I pull her close, circling her waist with my hands. “Do you like me?” she asks.

I spin her and take the opportunity to lean closer. “Yeah.”

She rests her hands on my chest. I wonder if she can feel how fast my heart is beating.

“You argue with me that real love exists, and you even had me reading romance books to prove it. But why don’t you believe that real love is out there for you? Why don’t you truly believe in love, Paige?”

Her eyes fill with tears, and it guts me. “I do believe in love, just not for me. Maybe you were right. That it’s just fiction.”

I pull her closer and whisper into her ear. “I’m sorry someone might have made you actually believe that.”

“In college, I had a serious boyfriend. He was ashamed of me and hid me from his friends and family. I always felt like I wasn’t good enough. Then one day, I found out he had asked another girl to marry him. Their parents had been longtime friends, and they had dated on and off since high school. It turns out he was just using me. That really hurt.”

The song stops, and I stop and look down at her. “He didn’t deserve you. I’m sorry, Sunshine.” I hold her close to me.

“What are we doing?” she whispers. “I don’t want to get hurt again.”

“Probably messing everything up,” I say as I lean in and kiss her softly, pulling her even closer. She kisses me back, and we stop when we realize the music hasn’t started back up again. People are packing up their things, and Paige and I are still lost in each other. “I won’t let you get hurt,” I tell her, and I mean it.

“Want to get out of here?” she asks, her eyes still on mine.

“Sure do,” I clip.

We hurry to my Jeep, and I tuck the basket in the back. I turn and pull Paige toward me and kiss her feverishly.

“Okay, okay, we’re on a public street,” I say, dragging my hands through my hair. I open her door and tuck her in quickly, then round to the driver’s side. I can still taste her lips on mine, and I just want to get her home.

“Are we really doing this?” Paige asks.

“Do you want to?”

She nods.

“This will change everything, Paige. We will be different.”

“It doesn’t have to. We can still hate each other,” she jokes.

I freeze. I don’t hate Paige. Far from it. And I don’t want this to be casual. She deserves better than that. Hell, I deserve better than that.

She pauses, her eyes locking on mine. The energy shifts between us. Our dynamic is at a fork in the road. We keep playing the game that we’re playing, or we take it to a serious place that, honestly, I don’t know how we can come back from. All I know is I want more. But does she?

25. paige

Say You Love Me

We pull into his driveway,and he can barely park before we scramble to the front door. He fumbles with his keys. He sighs in frustration as he kisses me and finally gets the door open. He pulls me in, kicking the door shut behind him as he kisses me, his hands running down my hips and wrapping around my bottom, pulling me toward him.

This. This Preston makes me lose it. The hot and demanding Preston who isn’t afraid to take what he wants. Right now, he seems to want me. And I’m more than okay with that. His keys drop to the floor, and he pulls me up into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he carries me toward his bedroom, not even flinching. He handles me like he’s meant to handle me, and I need this so badly. I need him; I want him. And he’s right. One night with him would never be enough. I need more and so does he.

He lays me down on his bed. Our hands are intertwined, and he pushes them above me, leaning in to kiss me deeply. Down my neck and across my collarbone. His hand slides under my shirt and lies on my abdomen, and I cringe.

“What?” he whispers, putting his forehead to mine. “Do you want me to stop?”

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