Chapter 37
Jason
I rest one of my forearms over the back of the hot-tub, stroking my thumb back and forth over the smooth wooden ledge. And I rake my other hand through my hair, relaxing into the heat of the water as the steam rises around me, my workshop and the towering pines behind me while I keep my eyes focused on the back door of the house.
Because the view up the mountain in the afternoon might be incredible, but the only thing that I want my eyes on is currently making her way toward me.
Sunday opens the back door and pads gently onto the deck, a small smile playing on her lips as she toys with the belt of her baby blue robe.
It’s short – short enough that I can see everything down from mid-thigh – and I run my palm over my jaw as I meet her eyes with mine.
“Well?” I ask gently, my gaze flicking between her face and the hem of her robe.
And then she pushes the robe off her shoulders and I inhale a breath, heat shooting through my groin.
I push both of my hands through my hair, slicking it back with the hot-tub water, and then I crook two digits at her to come closer as she drops the robe to the outdoor couch.
She makes her way over to the hot-tub, the heavy steam swirling around the curves of her frame, and then she drapes her legs over the side of the ledge, tightening her ponytail as I wrap my arms around her waist.
I hitch her thighs around my middle and tug her gently into the hot-tub with me, raking my gaze over her new bikini as she caresses her fingers down the muscles of my back.
It’s that beautiful baby blue colour that I’ve seen her wearing all winter long, so as soon as I saw it in the store I knew that I had to get it for her. Seeing as she didn’t have a bikini with her and I didn’t want her to ruin all of her panties in the water, I figured that this would do just fine until we get the chance to go shopping for more stuff together.
“Looks like it fits,” I say gruffly, my palms squeezing her hips as I take it in.
“It’s perfect,” she says back to me, a gentle blush on her cheeks as my eyes linger on her breasts. Then she dips down to kiss my stubble and whispers softly against me, “Thank you.”
My chest muscles swell as I lift a hand to her nape, meeting her mouth with mine in a sweltering kiss.
And my other palm courses slowly up and down her back, occasionally gripping the strings of her bikini while I gently stroke her tongue with mine.
I walk us slowly over to the other side of the hot-tub, my mouth never leaving hers as I settle her down on her feet.
Then I’m towering over her and leaning down as she arches up to me, her fingers threading through my hair as I kiss a trail down her neck.
I haven’t shaved in a while because I’ve gathered that Sunday loves my stubble, and she all but gasps when I reach her chest, the rough bristles scrubbing over her softness. I smirk as she pulls me in tighter, rubbing gently over her skin as she digs her nails into my back.
But then I’m standing upright again and looming over her, searching her shy expression for a couple of beats before turning her around so her back’s to my chest.
She leans her head between my large pecs and I wrap my biceps around her shoulders, gathering her close against my body as we look up into the snow-covered forest.
I lean down so that I can rest my jaw against her cheek, and she reaches back with one hand, stroking my neck as the snow drifts down like icing sugar from the pines.
“All of this,” I murmur, “all of this is yours, if you want it to be.”
Her lashes flutter as she looks up at the unbelievable view in front of us, her breathing turning shallow as I kiss her cheek, my forearms resting heavily against her breasts.
Between Case coming home in less than a week, and Sunday receiving a call this morning from the bar in Nashville that wants her to work for them, she’s been more quiet than usual since I picked her up at Casey’s bar, gnawing incessantly on her bottom lip like she’s trying to stop herself from saying something.
“I want whatever’s best for you,” I tell her roughly. “No matter what.”
She swallows breathlessly and nods, caressing my nape as she stares ahead, and then she says, “When the bar in Nashville called this morning… they upped their offer.”
My biceps ripple as I hold her tighter, but I keep my breathing even because this is important to her.
Because if Sunday managed to turn one of the smallest bars in Nashville into Broadway’s most-loved bar, who knows how insane the revenue could get if she put that work into a place that’s already big.
“They told me at the start of the year that I basically had until the end of March to make my decision, and seeing as I hadn’t expressed much interest, they…”
Sunday glances up at me over her shoulder and laughs shyly as she searches my eyes.
“They pulled out the big guns,” she finishes, and I chuckle quietly at her choice of words. “Like, really big,” she emphasises, biting her lip again as her brow creases.
“How big?” I ask quietly, smiling down at her when she strokes my biceps.
“Well, not this big,” she teases, and then she squeals happily when I bury my face in her neck, kissing and sucking at her perfect skin as she laughs, thoroughly distracted.
“I can show you the email if you want,” she whispers finally, her breathing ragged after the bout of foreplay that we just gave into.
“Sure,” I rumble back to her, my chest heaving as she lifts herself over the ledge, and then I watch her hips as she pads back inside the house, coming out half a minute later with her cell dangling loosely in her right hand.
I pull a rolled-up towel from the pile on the ledge and spread it out so that she can set her phone on it, and then she dips back into the water, taking her position against my chest as she unlocks her phone.
I stare up at the pines, absently playing with Sunday’s fluffy ponytail while she finds the email, and then she whispers my name to recapture my attention and I drop my chin to her shoulder, looking at her phone with her.
I stare at the email for about thirty seconds, reading it three times before I finally look away.
They offered her seven figures to go back to Nashville.
And a flight that leaves here tomorrow so that she can settle a deal with them in person.
Sunday clicks off her cell and turns around in my arms. She rests both of her hands against my chest as I rub my palms up and down her back.
“That’s… a lot of money,” I tell her honestly.
And I can’t think of many people in the world who would pass up on that kind of pay check.
But Sunday isn’t like a lot of people.
“I’m going to decline the offer,” she breathes out, and I swear my whole chest expands.
“Baby,” I say roughly, groaning through clenched teeth when she kisses my Adam’s apple. “You need to take your time to think about this, sweetheart. I don’t want you making a decision you might regret.”
“I’ve done what I needed to do in Nashville. I want to be in Phoenix Falls now. I… I want to be with…”
She swallows hard and looks up at me from under her long lashes, her cheeks burning crimson.
And because our souls have been twined since we were back in high school as love-struck teenagers, I know exactly what she wants to say.
I want to be in Phoenix Falls now. And I want to be with you.
“I want whatever’s best for you,” I tell her again, my breathing heavy as our bodies press together under the water. “If that means going back to Nashville, so be it.”
“I’m not leaving you again,” she rasps, her brow arching in pain.
“Don’t for a second think that I’m asking you that. If you’re going to Nashville, I’m coming with you.”
Sunday’s eyes widen as soon as the words leave my mouth, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she thinks of that possibility.
“You’d come to Nashville?” she asks, her voice breathless with emotion.
“I’ll go anywhere you want, as long as we’re together.”
And then she’s standing on her tip-toes and dragging me down to her height so that I can kiss her, my hands instantly sliding up her waist and squeezing her firmly as she pants against me.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” she whispers hoarsely. “Phoenix Falls is your home.”
“It’s your home too, if you want it to be,” I remind her, backing her up against the ledge and leaning down to kiss her jaw.
“I really want to stay here,” she whispers softly, and my heart clenches tight, because I want her to stay here, too.
But I also want her to be sure about turning down over a million fucking dollars.
I stand upright as Sunday wraps her arms around the breadth of my shoulders, and I cup her jaw in my large hands, stroking at her cheeks with reassuring firmness.
“I was thinking that I could maybe help Casey with his bar,” she whispers gently. “Like, when he goes back to the Army, I could help out with whatever he needs. Even waitressing, ’cause I never really did that when I was in Nashville. And I want to be with you, in the place that’s always been our home.”
Fuck, I want that, too.
So goddamn much.
“Seven figures, baby,” I remind her.
She purses her lips and strokes her fingertips over my chest.
And then she mumbles something that sounds a lot like, “ I’ve already kinda earned a whole lot of money in Nashville, by the way .”
My brow quirks and I chuckle quietly because she looks shy as hell about it. And even though we never talk about money, it’s good to know that she’s financially secure.
I mean, if she’s living with me, she’s never going to spend a dime, but I’m still glad to know that she has a truckload to do whatever she wants with.
And also, that thing that she just said about Casey’s bar? I have to physically fucking restrain myself from almost saying exactly what he asked me not to.
But I can’t wait for him to tell her when he gets home in a couple days’ time.
“Although,” she says softly, glancing up at me as I hold her close. “Even if I know that I want to be here, they did send me an airplane ticket.”
My breathing pauses but I nod my head, suddenly understanding where she’s going with this.
“You want to check out the bar in Nashville one last time, before you make your decision,” I conclude, not loving the idea of her going back there but knowing that it makes sense for her to do it.
“I’ve already made my decision,” she reassures me gently, “and I’m going to turn it down. But because they purchased the ticket, to be polite I should head there and do it in person.”
I glance back up toward the trees, slowly scrubbing my stubble as I calm my breathing.
She’s right – of course she’s right – but I already know that I’m going to miss her like crazy.
I already do, and she’s still wrapped up in my goddamn arms.
“How long are you going to be gone?” I ask, slipping my rough fingers up the back of her bra.
“I’ll leave tomorrow and be back the day after that, so that I can get everything perfect for when Case arrives home.” And she gives me a teasing smile as she whispers softly, “Just one day.”
“Okay,” I rumble quietly. “Or I can come with you, if you want.”
“I need to do this on my own,” she says huskily.
Yeah, but it was worth a shot.
“Fine,” I murmur, and she laughs sweetly as I lean down to kiss her, my mouth moving roughly over hers because now we don’t have tomorrow.
I groan as she parts her lips and lets me gently lick her tongue with mine, her hands squeezing every muscle she can reach as I tug the string at the back of her top.
She gasps as it hits the water and then I toss it onto the ledge before resettling my palms around her waist. And then she’s arching her back over the side of the hot-tub as I slowly kiss my way down her neck.
I know that Sunday is certain that she wants to stay in Phoenix Falls, but I’m not going to leave a single doubt in her mind that this is the place she needs to be.
And if she’s heading to Nashville tomorrow, I’ve got all night to stake my claim.
She tugs harder at my hair, panting quickly as I reach her breasts and, after a long heated moment, I fucking devour her.