Chapter 6 #3
He grinned, and she realized that Slater had a great smile. It was easy and warm and welcoming, and right now she wished she could lean in and kiss him.
“I hate like hell that I’m making you sneak around,” he said quietly. “You deserve something a hell of a lot better than that. More respectful.”
“I wasn’t complaining.”
“I know you weren’t, it was just…I don’t know…an observation or something.”
“You’re very sweet to be worried about it, but I’m fine with it. Besides, you promised me adventure if I came to the resort, and so far, you’ve delivered.”
His smile grew right before he waggled his eyebrows playfully. “Stick with me, sweetheart. I promise to give you the adventure of a lifetime.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Sorry about that,” Milo said as he and Nora slid back into the booth.
Sexy thoughts and promises of adventure were pushed aside as the conversation went back to work issues and resort business. Normally she didn’t mind that sort of thing, but right now all she could focus on was counting down until she could slip into Slater’s cabin later on tonight.
By the time the fire burned low and the last marshmallow had been sacrificed to the flames, Evie’s cheeks hurt from smiling.
She and Slater had barely touched. Hell, they’d barely been able to have a single conversation just the two of them because everyone decided to hang out tonight—Axel and Maisie, Milo and Nora, even Connor, Lexi, and their kids came to have dinner and dessert with them.
What should have been a quiet and intimate dessert around the fire before slipping away to be alone turned into some sort of party.
Around the fire pit, surrounded by friends, their knees had brushed once. His hand had lingered at the small of her back when he passed her a stick. Their eyes had met more times than she could count.
But that was it.
No stolen kisses. No wandering hands. No private moments. And when everyone finally stood and stretched and declared it a night, Slater had smiled at her like he had dozens of times before—that friendly, easy, casual smile.
“See you tomorrow, Evie,” he said as they all began to disperse.
Tomorrow.
Like they hadn’t made plans to be together. Like they didn’t spend last night naked and sweaty and tangled together in his bed. Like she hadn’t memorized the shape of his mouth in the dark.
So, she’d smiled back. Because what else could she do? And with a forced smile and wave, she walked back to her cabin alone. The night air felt colder without his hand in hers.
Inside her cabin, the silence was worse.
She leaned back against the closed door and let out a slow breath.
Being alone was her thing, and maybe this was for the best. Spending only one night together had been risky enough; two just might be the tipping point to ruining things.
Being friends—staying friends—was good. It was smart.
Keeping some boundaries was the right thing to do.
They’d agreed—without saying it outright—that this was temporary. She shouldn’t expect him to knock on her door every night, especially after only one night. She shouldn’t want him to.
With a long, weary breath, she pushed off the door and moved around the small cabin, mechanically getting ready for bed. She washed her face and changed into sleep shorts and one of her oversized tees.
This was fine.
She was fine.
She climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling. The mattress felt enormous and cold. Her body felt restless, as if it had grown accustomed to something it no longer had.
Nope, it was better this way.
“If I say it enough times, I’ll believe it, right?” she asked the empty space beside her.
Maybe tonight was a reset. A reminder that they were still friends. That she wasn’t allowed to get attached to something that already had an expiration date stamped on it.
Her throat tightened unexpectedly, and she rolled onto her side, punching the pillow as she went.
It took a few tries to get comfortable, but every time she moved her leg or stretched out, she thought of their conversation this morning about her being a bed hog.
She hadn’t meant to be, but she’d never paid attention to where her body moved during the night because she always had an entire bed to herself.
With a soft sigh, Evie told herself to relax. Her eyes closed when she heard something.
A knock.
Not loud, but not tentative either. Her heart leaped so violently that she nearly tripped over the edge of the bed getting up. She crossed the room too quickly, nearly running across the tiny cabin before yanking the door open.
And there he was.
Slater.
With his hands in his jacket pockets and his hair still smelling faintly of smoke, his expression was carefully neutral in the moonlight.
“You forgot something,” he said.
She blinked. “I did?”
“Yeah.”
He stepped closer, and her pulse went wild.
“Me.”
Her breath left her in a rush she couldn’t stop. “Slater, I…”
“You really thought I was just going to say goodnight?” His voice was low and controlled. “After sitting across from you for two hours trying not to think about how you’d taste like chocolate and smoke if I walked over and kissed you? How I couldn’t wait to find out?”
Her knees nearly buckled.
“All our friends were there, and that obviously wasn’t part of the plan so I was being respectful,” he continued, stepping inside and quietly closing the door behind him. “Very mature. Ten out of ten self-control.”
She swallowed. “That so?”
“Mm-hmm.” He stopped in front of her. Close, but not touching.
She hated that they weren’t touching.
“And how’s that working out for you?” she asked softly.
His jaw tightened slightly. “Terrible.”
Relief flooded her so fast it was almost dizzying and a nervous laugh was out before she could stop it. She hadn’t imagined it. The tension. The pull. The way his eyes darkened every time she laughed.
“I thought maybe,” she admitted quietly, “it was better if we… didn’t.”
His gaze softened just a little. “Is that what you want?”
No.
God, no.
But the smart answer hovered at the edge of her tongue. She looked at him instead. At the way he was clearly holding himself back. At the way he’d still come. At the way he was still waiting for her consent.
Her voice dropped. “You knocked.”
Something flickered in his expression at that. “Yeah,” he said. “I did.”
She stepped closer. Just enough that their chests almost brushed. “Then stop pretending you’re here to be praised for your self-control.”
His hand slid to her waist, slow and testing. “Careful,” he murmured.
“Why?”
“Because I’m already trying very hard not to carry you back to that bed.”
Heat spiraled through her. “Maybe,” she whispered, fingers curling into his jacket, “I don’t need carrying.”
His eyes darkened. “Oh, I know you don’t.”
The air between them tightened.
“You sure about this?” he asked quietly, not teasing now.
She didn’t hesitate this time. “I was miserable being here without you,” she said. “That feels like a sign.”
His mouth curved slowly. “That’s your reasoning?”
“It’s airtight.”
He leaned down, lips brushing the corner of her mouth. “You’re terrible at being sensible.”
“And you’re terrible at staying away,” she whispered as his hand tightened around her waist.
“Guess we’re even.”
Evie pulled him the rest of the way before taking his hand and leading him to her bedroom. Glancing at him over her shoulder, she said, “No carrying required.”
The low rumble of his laugh made her knees weak, but luckily they didn’t have far to go.