Chapter 39
Hess
Gravel crunches under the tires as the last food truck pulls out of the drive, leaving the place quiet again. My hand laces through Camila’s as we walk back toward the barn, the glow from the string lights spilling out from the windows.
She rests her head on my shoulder. “It was a good day.”
“Yeah,” I muse as we step inside the barn.
“I should be more tired, but I’m not.”
I glance at Camila and how her black dress still clings to her. How wisps of her hair frame her face. “If you’re not tired, how about one last dance?” I gesture toward the wide-open floor.
Her eyes soften as she nods.
I lead her to the middle of the room as the strands of lights glow above us like stars.
One hand goes to her waist, the other curling around her back as we sway together.
Her curves mold against me perfectly, every part of her fitting like she belongs here, with me, in my arms. My cheek brushes her hair, and for a moment, I feel entirely content.
This is what life is all about.
My heart pounds too hard to keep it in. I lean back, just enough to see her face. Her eyes lift to mine, brown and soft, and I know nothing will ever beat this moment.
“I love you,” I breathe out the words. “I don’t know how to not love you.”
Her lips part, surprise flashing in her eyes, but I keep going, words tumbling out before I can stop them.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen, but there was no way to stop the fall, even if I wanted to.
You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.
You’re strong and brilliant and so sure of yourself, and every single day, you make me want to be a better man for you. I can’t help it. I love you.”
The bigger her smile gets, the more my chest aches. And then she’s pulling me closer, her lips catching mine like that’s the only way she knows how to respond.
The kiss starts tender, almost playful, as if it’s full of joy and excitement all at once.
But as the moments roll on, things shift, the gravity of what I just confessed shaping our intimacy.
The chemistry between us is not just physical.
It’s a love. It’s the promise of a future.
The kind of passion that feels like we’re not two people anymore but one.
We stumble, bumping into a table, a laugh breaking against her lips before I claim her mouth again.
My hand fumbles for the light switch, plunging the barn into darkness except for the moonlight seeping through the cracks.
I manage to lead us back outside, clumsily trying to shut the doors behind us while still kissing her.
But she breaks away, already walking ahead, hips swaying, adding to my need for her.
Then she glances over her shoulder with a flirty smile and blazing eyes that challenge every physical line I’ve maintained between us.
I can’t help myself. I run after her, grabbing her around the waist from behind, pulling her against my chest. I bury kisses along her neck, her laugh turning breathless as her head tips back.
She turns in my arms, draping hers around my neck, and our mouths crash together again, more desperate this time.
We stumble toward the house, tripping up the steps, never breaking apart. Inside, the darkness adds to the tension. We kiss our way down the hall until we’re by our bedrooms. I press her back against the wall, tangling my fingers in her hair, kissing her like it’s the only language between us.
My hands slide down her body as she pushes my suit jacket off my shoulders.
We both know where this is going if one of us doesn’t say something soon, but it’s like a standoff, neither one of us willing to retreat.
When she starts unbuttoning my top button, I pull back, breath ragged as my chest heaves up and down.
“I want you more than a man has ever wanted a woman, but…” My words hang between us, no further explanation needed.
She takes my hand. Her grip firm as she leads me toward her bedroom. My feet stop just shy of the doorway, my heart pounding. I know what this means. If we cross this line, there’s no going back. Not for me. This isn’t convenience. This is real.
A real marriage built on love and commitment.
Forever.
“Camila,” I whisper, searching her eyes, “crossing this line will change everything between us.”
She steps toward me, her fingers sliding through my hair. “I know.”
“Are you sure you want this? Sure you’re ready?”
She nods then places a soft kiss on my lips.
It’s like her mind prevents her from saying I love you with words, but her heart is willing to show me another way.
And that’s all I need.
Camila
Sunlight spills across the room, waking me.
My first thought goes to Hess and last night, and how he’s right here beside me in my bed.
We’re not tangled together like something out of a romance movie, just lying next to each other, close enough that I can hear the quiet rhythm of his breathing.
Somehow, I like this better. The normalcy of it.
The mundane action of waking up next to the person you share everything with.
I don’t regret it. Any of it.
There’s comfort in knowing I have someone here, a built-in partner and friend who also happens to be the man I can kiss whenever I want. The man I can share the most vulnerable parts of myself with.
I’ve never had that before.
Not like this.
And I’m surprised by how much I like it.
Six years ago, when we first met at the Waffle House, I was guarded.
Barbed wire wrapped tightly around every part of me.
Even six months ago, the walls fortifying my heart were so high and thick that a man’s love had nowhere to land.
I couldn’t feel it, couldn’t receive it, and certainly couldn’t return it.
But then Hess came along, patient enough to chip away, one brick at a time, until somehow, he left me standing here with my heart wide open to feel love.
Love.
That elusive feeling I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to prove doesn’t exist.
But now I know it does.
Hess loves me.
My eyes drift over his face. The faint stubble on his jaw. The curve of his lips. The way he somehow looks softer, almost boyish, in sleep. I have the sudden urge to touch him, to push back the lock of hair that’s fallen across his forehead. So I do. My fingers graze lightly, and he stirs.
One eye cracks open then shuts again. His voice is rough with sleep when he murmurs, “You’re watching me sleep.” He shifts closer, draping an arm across my body, pulling me against him.
“Yes,” I say, smiling.
There’s a subtle headshake. “Why?”
“I was just thinking.”
“Uh-oh. Thinking?” His eyes peel open, a teasing glint behind his gaze. “In a good way or a bad way?”
“A good way.”
“Phew.” His lips tilt into the faintest smile, eyes closing again. “For a second there, I thought you were going to kick me out of your bed.”
“It’s actually your bed.”
A quick smile covers his lips. “It’s our bed.”
Our bed? My heart races with fear—old habits die hard—but before I can sit in that feeling, Hess pulls my body to his. I snuggle against him, resting my head on his chest. His warmth surrounds me, and I let myself breathe it in, steady and sure.
Maybe there’s nothing to be scared of after all.