Page 22 of Deny Me

“I’m just taking after you, the man who is never wrong.” I rolled my eyes.

He smiled at me. “Well, I’m not.”

“Ha. Ha. Let’s just enjoy our time in Jamaica now that we can be around each other without death stares.”

He pulled me in tighter to his body, pressing my chest into his, and fully wrapped his arm around me. I wondered if he could feel how hard my heart was beating through my chest against his. He rarely held me this close. Usually any contact was in self-defense or with discomfort.

When his head leaned down to rest on mine, my eyes closed, cherishing the way he felt against me. He had never held me this way, so soft and tender. Had any man? I tried not to think about the way my skin heated when his fingers stroked my back. I tried not to think about what Shane had said because he was wrong.

But when Jameson shifted his lips close to my ear and muttered, “Evie, I’m not sure I could look at you with anything but awe,” it became hard to ignore the way my heart swelled. I forced myself to pretend I didn’t hear, even though we both knew I did.

We’d just gotten over one hump to return to normal. I didn’t want to disturb it by acknowledging his admission of how he saw me. The day had been long and filled with too much alcohol, too much sun, and too much love to think straight. I could’ve been completely wrong about what he meant. Maybe he was in awe of how annoying I was. Maybe I hadn’t heard him correctly after all.

But I did. Even though I didn’t want to.

---