Chapter Three
TATE
Iam out of my damn mind. But for the first time, I’m letting myself get swept away by the tide.
After our adventure at the winery, we’d driven back to the villa in the late afternoon.
Everyone was up and awake, either chilling by the pool or off doing their own thing like Sully and I had been.
I couldn’t help but sneak glances at Sully as we’d walked back into the villa.
His phantom touch still lingers as I go about my evening routine.
At dinner, I’d snuck glances at him throughout our meal only when I was sure no one was looking.
He’s engaging, but shy, clearly better at taking a back seat in the group than leading it.
But the way everyone includes him makes it clear that he’s well-loved.
And I guess, in a way, if he’s close with Bailey, I have to trust that the man is good people.
But a fling at my age must be one of the stupidest things I’ve ever considered. I don’t allow myself to be indulgent much, but this will definitely take the cake. I can’t care much about it when I think about kissing Sully again, though.
After a hot shower, brushing my teeth, and dressing in pajama pants, I’m just about to curl up in bed when there’s a soft knock at my door.
I push my glasses up my nose as I swing the door open.
I’d assumed it would be Olivia or Dad, but no, it’s Sully.
He’s clearly showered as well, his blond hair a messy pile atop his head.
But my God, that smile could broker world peace.
Just a little shy but a lot cute; it melts all the ice around my heart.
“I just wanted to say goodnight,” Sully says softly.
Be still my beating heart. “Goodnight.”
Sully gestures inside my room. “Can I come in for a moment?”
I swallow roughly but back away to allow him room to maneuver through the doorway anyway. Closing the door behind him, I lean against the entryway wall as Sully glances around.
“Looks just like mine, but mine faces the front.”
“Ah,” I reply awkwardly.
“I was wondering if you wanted to see the hot springs tomorrow with me. It might be good for my shoulder. I’d ask Bailey, but tomorrow is an outing they’re doing for a hot air balloon, and I’m afraid of heights, so…
” Sully trails off with an awkward laugh.
He’s babbling because he’s nervous. My heart softens even more, and I can’t help but smile at him.
“I hate heights too. I’ll join you.”
“Really?”
I bite my lip, warmth spreading through me when his gaze dips to my mouth. “Yes. Seeing you shirtless in a thermal bath isn’t a hardship for me.”
“Ah, okay.” Sully goes to leave, seemingly thinks better of it, and then returns to kiss me softly.
It’s not like the kiss back at the winery; no, this is a true goodnight kiss.
The kind someone gives you after a date that went spectacularly well.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Sully whispers against my mouth.
“Yes.”
“I’m leaving now,” Sully says, but he doesn’t move.
“You don’t seem to be moving,” I point out.
Sully presses his forehead to mine for a brief second before pulling away.
He stalks to the bedroom door, glances at me over his shoulder, smiles shyly, then leaves without another word.
A goodnight kiss. I lift my hand to my lips, wondering if I press hard enough, could I carry the memory of his mouth on mine with me through the night.
“What are you doing today?” Olivia asks me the second I walk into the kitchen.
“Uhm.” I hurriedly grab a pastry, shoving it into my mouth to buy some time. But I’m chewing too slowly, so her eyes turn shrewd as she tries to figure me out.
“Mornin’,” Sully greets everyone as he comes up behind me. He reaches over me to grab a banana and a cheese pastry, his arm gently brushing mine. A shiver rolls through me, even as I maintain Olivia’s gaze. Her eyes sharpen even more as her sharp gaze flicks between me and Sully.
“Morning!” Bailey says around a mouthful of omelet. Gross.
Thankfully, Olivia is momentarily distracted by wiping an errant egg from her fiancé’s chin.
Thank God for small blessings. Sully presses against my back for one blissful moment before pulling away to stand beside me at the island.
Sneaking a look over at him was stupid but worth it when I find him looking down at me with a soft grin intended only for me.
My brain is full of static as Sully makes pleasantries with everyone in the kitchen.
By the time he’s tugging me by the sleeve out of the house, I’ve forgotten what we’re doing. Right. The hot springs.
I trail behind Sully to take him in, all the big, broad, large, glorious expanse of him.
Dressed in board shorts, flip-flops, and a faded T-shirt, he just looks so fucking sweet that my heart does that odd little flip in my chest again.
A fling? Stupid, destined for heartache.
But something tells me that trusting Sully with my heart for even a week will be worth it.
Believing in romance again would be worth the slight pain of loss once the week is over.
Sully opens the car door for me and presses a possessive palm to my back to help me inside. Jesus. As we drive, we roll the windows down, letting the warm morning air whip through our hair and over our skin.
“Are you in the wedding at all?” Sully asks.
My brain snags on the way his hands grip the wheel, the tightness of his forearms as he turns down a small gravel road. I only realize I haven’t responded when Sully looks at me with a face full of concern. Oops.
“No. Just sitting up front to watch her walk down the aisle.”
Sully hums thoughtfully. “This is my first time ever being a groomsman. Well, best man I guess. I already have anxiety about tripping down the aisle or something.”
“You’re not going to trip down the aisle,” I rush to reassure him. But Sully just rolls his eyes with a smirk, a soft dusting of crimson filling the apple of his cheeks. “I swear, Sully. You won’t.”
“I’m so clumsy in real life. I’m always amazed that I don’t just trip over myself on the field on game day.”
“Do you trip in practice?”
Sully thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head. “Nope. I guess the football field cures my clumsiness.”
“Maybe so,” I agree.
We smile at each other just as Sully parks the car at the hot springs.
The air is more humid here, probably from all the water, but it’s a short walk to the springs.
A few people are already in the water, laughter ringing out through the air.
Sully tugs me again by the sleeve of my shirt toward a hidden alcove with trees, creating the perfect shade.
He drags off his shirt and heads toward the springs without any modesty.
I hesitate for a moment, not embarrassed about my body but calculating our vast differences.
Sully’s body is strong, built for taking other men down on the field for a living.
Mine is soft with age, built for standing for long hours doing surgery.
But when Sully climbs into the water like some sort of blond, built-like-a Mack-truck god, every self-conscious thought disappears from my brain when he turns around to aim that aw-shucks smile at me.
The water is the perfect temperature as I step in, slowly approaching Sully. His eyes take me in, full of want and fire, and my body heats just from that single look.
I dip down low enough to be covered up to my shoulders. “This was a fun idea.”
Sully steps a little closer, making ripples between us.
His hand reaches out to curl his fingers around my wrist, then he gently yanks until we’re face to face in the warm water.
I can’t say how long we stand there, breathing each other in.
Seconds, minutes, and hours; time just freezes.
His eyelashes are blond, perfectly framing his impossibly beautiful blue eyes.
He has a scar between his eyebrows that piques my curiosity.
With my free hand, I slowly brush my wet fingertips across the scar, leaving droplets in my wake.
“How’d you get this?” I ask quietly, voice barely a whisper.
“Foster dad threw a beer bottle at me,” Sully says lowly, as if embarrassed.
“No,” I whisper before brushing my lips over the scar. “No, Sully.”
Sully wraps his arms around me and tugs me tight against the hard line of his body.
I go easily, not putting up an ounce of fight.
Something about Sully bleeds all the fight from my body.
Before I change my mind, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him right on the mouth.
His hands come up to tangle in the hairs at the nape of my neck, tilting my head as he moans against my lips.
Opening up for him, his tongue dips into my mouth to taste me, and I’m surprised to realize the loud keen that reaches my ears came from me.
His large palm tenderly caresses the curve of my ass in a way that makes me feel so very wanted, so very adored.
Everything about the moment makes me drowsy: the soft slide of lips, the sun beating down on us, the warm water.
I’m alive. When I finally pull away from Sully, his eyes are blown wide, and his lips kiss-bitten red.
Dancing my fingers over his cheekbones, I can’t help but lean forward to place one last, closed-mouth kiss on his gorgeous lips.
“Tate,” Sully says softly.
“A little fling,” I remind him.