Chapter 8
LILY
Lily was sprawled out on her stomach in her room, listening to the latest gossip from Jasmine, when a light tapping sound clicked against her window.
Jasmine stopped mid-sentence, her head cocked. “Did you hear that?”
Lily hoisted herself up on her elbows and craned her neck around to look at the darkened window. “I don’t know. What did you hear?”
They remained frozen for a few seconds, but when nothing happened, Lily shrugged. “Anyway, what were you saying about Royce? I heard Dad and Rose arguing about him the other day. I guess he’s interested in Penny?”
Jasmine nodded, her eyes brightening. “I told you something funny was happening. I swore I saw them at the wedding together.”
“But he wasn’t invited. Not even Mateo would have been willing to go against Dad’s request,” Lily insisted.
Tap.
Tap.
Jasmine straightened. “There it is again.” She pulled herself off the bed and moved around until she was standing before the window. She squinted, but when she couldn’t see what she was looking for, she yanked the window open and stuck her head out.
Lily heard the whistle. Then a low voice.
Her heart ratcheted up, but she didn’t move. Not even when Jasmine called out, “Really? Do you think that’s wise?”
Her sister turned then, glancing at Lily over her shoulder with a wink. Then she turned back to the window. “What if I don’t have a swimsuit?”
More low murmurs came from outside, and Jasmine laughed.
Lily couldn’t believe her sister was answering what had to have been Aiden. What if she didn’t want to go with him. And what exactly was her sister agreeing to!?
“Okay, okay. I’ll be down in a minute.” She shut the window and spun around to face Lily. Folding her arms, she cocked a brow. “You didn’t tell me it was getting serious with Mr. Rodeo Cowboy. Although, I must say, if he couldn’t figure out I wasn’t you…”
Lily gasped and threw a pillow at her sister. “That’s hardly fair. We’re twins, remember? And you’re up here while he’s down there in the dark.” Then her eyes widened. “Wait. Did you say swimsuit?”
Jasmine nodded, smirking. “I did.”
“What? Why?”
“Heck if I know. He just said he’s taking you somewhere fun and you need your suit.” She eyed Lily, her teasing smile deepening. “Unless you think I can get away with tricking him since it’s so dark.”
Lily rolled her eyes, but a nervous laugh slipped out. “Jasmine.”
“What? I’m kidding.” Jasmine laughed as she moved to the dresser and rifled through it.
“Mostly. Now, I think you should take that cute green number. It matches best with our complexions.” She whipped a swimsuit from the top drawer.
“Aha. Here it is.” Then she tossed it at Lily. “Hurry up. He’s waiting.”
Lily stared down at the swimsuit in her hands. This was ridiculous. It was ten at night, and Christopher was outside her bedroom window asking her to sneak out with a swimsuit.
Well, not sneak out exactly. Jasmine knew. And Lily wasn’t a child.
Still, there was something a little reckless about the whole thing, which was probably why her stomach was full of butterflies.
Lily emerged from the house and glanced around, but she didn’t see any sign of Christopher. When she blew out a breath, the hair around her face fluttered. “Christo—”
“Shh.”
She startled and spun to the left to see Christopher emerging from the shadows of the house. His smile was addictive in the best kind of way, and her nerves immediately tangled with excitement.
Lily clutched her towel in both hands. It was an unseasonably warm evening and a good thing, too, seeing as Christopher apparently wanted them to go swimming.
She headed for him, one brow cocked. “Well, you got me out here in a bathing suit. What’s the plan?”
They met in the middle, and Christopher took her hand in his. “The plan is I’m taking you swimming.”
“It’s ten at night. I don’t think the pools are open.”
“They aren’t. But that’s okay because I have a different plan in mind.”
Christopher gently tugged her toward his truck.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see.”
That wasn’t cryptic at all.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long to find out what he meant. He drove away from town, which was unexpected. And when he took a road into the foothills, she was even more confused.
Lily looked out the window, then back at him. “You know, this is the kind of thing where a girl starts wondering if she should have asked more questions before getting in the truck.”
Christopher glanced over, his expression sobering. “I probably should have told you more up front.”
The admission softened something in her. “But?” she prompted.
“But it’s a surprise.” His grin returned, though it was gentler now. “And if at any point you don’t like it, I’ll take you home.”
When he pulled up to a hiking trail, she barked out a laugh. “I’m not going hiking this late at night.”
“Why not? The moon is full. Plenty of light to see by.”
His voice was teasing, but he waited beside the truck instead of pulling her forward this time.
Lily glanced at the trail. The trees looked silver under the moonlight, and the air smelled like pine and dust and warm earth. “How far?”
“Not far. I promise.”
She studied him for a beat, then sighed. “Fine. But if I trip over a root and break my face, you’re explaining that to my father.”
“I’d rather face the root.”
She laughed despite herself and followed him toward the woods. Then the trees opened up to something she never expected. Lily stopped before a pool of water. Steam wafted off the surface before dissipating into the air.
Christopher turned toward her, watching her. “It’s a hot spring.”
“What?” she whispered.
“A hot spring, it’s—”
“I know what a hot spring is. I just…” She looked around, taking in the rocks, the trees, the pale ribbon of steam curling into the night. “I never knew this was here.”
Christopher smirked. “It’s not very well-known, I guess.”
“And how did you find out about it?”
“Oh, there was a patient—” His words cut off, and he cleared his throat. “Someone at the rodeo said something.”
Her brows pulled together. “Patient?”
He chuckled, gripping the back of his neck. “He got hurt. I had to take him to the… hospital.”
The pause was strange.
Small, but strange.
Lily watched him for a second longer. “I hope it wasn’t too serious.”
“No. He was all right.” Christopher didn’t seem interested in dwelling on the subject. He gestured toward the water. “Go on. The water’s great.”
She wanted to ask more.
Patient.
Hospital.
There was probably an explanation. Maybe he’d gone with the guy when he got hurt at the rodeo.
Maybe Christopher was being vague because the story wasn’t his to tell.
Still, another little question settled in the back of her mind.
Then she looked at the steaming pool again, and her curiosity shifted into wonder.
She grinned. “Okay.”
Lily kicked off her shoes and placed her towel with them. Then she moved closer to the water’s edge. Her toe broke the surface, causing the glassy pool to ripple. A sigh of contentment escaped her lips before she stepped into the water. In no time, she was fully submerged, as was Christopher.
“Okay, your turn.”
“My turn?” he asked, amusement in his voice. “What’s my turn?”
“You make me talk too much about myself.”
“That’s because I can’t get enough of your lovely voice. I’d much rather spend my time getting to know you.”
She laughed. “That’s sweet, but unrealistic.” She moved a little closer, careful to keep enough space between them that she didn’t lose her nerve. “I can count on one hand the things I know about you.”
Lily placed her hands lightly on his shoulders, her voice softening. “You like to compete in the rodeo. You’re a cowboy by trade. You like your privacy. And you have a brother.”
“You’re missing one thing,” he murmured. Their faces were inches apart and she searched his eyes for a hint of what he might be referring to. Then she felt his hands come around her waist.
Her breath hitched.
Christopher’s eyes didn’t leave hers. His touch was warm, but careful. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke again.
His thumb brushed along her jawline, barely there. “I really like you.” His lips quirked upward. He leaned a little closer, then stopped.
Lily’s breath caught in her throat. “Why?”
His hands stilled at her waist. “You intrigue me. There’s something about you that… I can’t get out of my head. I know you care about your family. You’re really close to your sister. You like country living.”
She huffed. “Most people can claim those things.”
Christopher’s smile softened. “Maybe. But most people don’t look me straight in the eye and tell me the parts of themselves they’re still working on.”
She blinked.
“You wear your heart on your sleeve,” he said quietly.
“You know your flaws, and you’re not ashamed of them, but you don’t allow yourself to be controlled by them.
You speak your mind instead of pretending your life is perfect.
You don’t know just how… refreshing that is in a person.
” His gaze moved over her face, searching.
“A lot of people hide who they are. They only show what’s on the surface.
But you? You let me see you. The real you.
And if I’m being honest, I can’t get enough. ”
She gaped at him. This didn’t seem real.
He wasn’t real.
Normal guys didn’t act like this.
They sat like that for endless seconds, with mist rising around them and the glow of the moon overhead. He wanted to know her. The Lily who didn’t have to shy away from her true self.
And it made her want to do the same for him.
“So tell me,” she whispered. “Tell me about the real Christopher.”
His grip on her tensed slightly, and he looked away. “There’s not much to share.”
“So start with the boring stuff. I’m game with that,” she pressed.
He seemed to scrutinize her for a moment. Then he nodded curtly. “Okay. Well, when I was a kid, my mom left us—my dad and me. She just… left.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m so—”
“I don’t remember her at all. And honestly, my dad found someone better. He married her. She adopted me, then gave me a brother.”
She smiled softly.
“I never felt like I was missing out on anything. But as I got older…” He sighed. “It turned out that my folks unintentionally picked favorites. My baby brother could do no wrong. He got good grades. Never got in trouble. He was the easy kid.”
That had her frowning. “I’m sure they—”
“Yeah, I know they didn’t mean to.” He shrugged.
“To be fair, I wasn’t exactly the kid who fulfilled all their expectations.
I nearly didn’t graduate. I didn’t want to go to college, but I did end up getting an associate’s degree.
That was nothing compared to when my brother started his construction company.
Anything I managed to do, he did better. ”
“Christopher—”
He flinched, and his hands dropped from her sides, but he didn’t pull away. “I got used to it. And it’s fine, honestly. It’s easier to fly under the radar when your folks are putting all their eggs in the little brother basket.”
He said it with a little laugh, but she knew better.
This was a sore subject. She got the feeling that no one ever chose him. Not first. Not fully. Christopher felt lost and overlooked. He didn’t have to say that outright for her to know it was true. And she didn’t know what to do with that ache in her chest.
She couldn’t fix it for him. She knew that. A person couldn’t pour enough affection into someone to fill every hollow place. But she could listen.
She could see him for who he was.
Christopher heaved out another sigh and forced a smile. “We’re getting on better terms these days. He moved back to town, so there’s that.”
Lily smiled with encouragement. “That’s good.” Then she grimaced. “Would it make me sound like too much of a hypocrite if I said it’s better to forgive and move on than to let it fester?”
He chuckled. “I think forgiving family for something that wasn’t exactly their fault isn’t quite in the same realm as forgiving someone who has wronged you.”
The way he said it sounded so sad.
Did he have experience with that?
Without thinking, she pulled him in for a tight hug. No words needed to be said. She might be opening herself up for trouble by allowing herself to trust him so readily, but perhaps what he said held more weight than either of them had expected.
There was something about him that made her want—more.
More of them… together.