Chapter 8 #2
“There’s nothing else I’d rather do.” He kissed her and groaned when her tongue twisted with his.
As he had many times since the first time with Chelsea, he thought about what he would’ve missed if he’d never met her.
He’d never had the kind of all-consuming sex he had with her, and he’d become addicted to it—and to her—over the last year.
Sliding into her tight, wet heat was like finding paradise. He loved the way she tightened around his cock, how she pulled his hair and left scratches on his back.
“Why would I want anyone else when I have you?” she asked, looking at him with her heart in her eyes. “No one has ever taken care of me the way you do.”
As he throbbed deep inside her, Kevin closed his eyes against the rush of emotion.
Her arms wound around his neck, her fingers delved into his hair, and her lips skimmed his face. She made him feel cherished and wanted in a way his wife never had. Their connection had been electric from the beginning, and after all this time, that initial attraction had never faded.
The guy at the bar was right. He was a lucky son of a bitch to have earned the love of such an extraordinary woman, and he’d be wise to hold on to her, no matter what.
Chelsea lay in bed next to Kevin, her mind racing with thoughts and worries that couldn’t be quieted no matter how hard she tried.
She could tell he was wrestling with the challenge she had brought into their harmonious relationship.
Part of her wanted to say never mind, let’s forget about it.
But the other part of her knew that wouldn’t be wise.
For years, her mother had yielded to her father’s wishes to the detriment of her own dreams and had been rewarded for her loyalty by a husband who’d left her for another woman.
Her mom had never recovered from that blow.
To Chelsea’s knowledge, her mother hadn’t been on a single date or so much as entertained the idea of being with anyone else in the twenty years since her marriage ended in dramatic fashion.
As much as she loved Kevin, Chelsea didn’t want to end up like her mother by sacrificing her own goals for someone else.
Not that Kevin would ever ask that of her.
He wasn’t that kind of guy. In fact, one of the things she loved best about him was the way he supported and indulged her many hobbies, including gardening, cooking and photography.
For her birthday, he’d bought her gifts tailored to each of those things and had obviously put considerable thought and preplanning into each of them.
Living on the island required careful planning for occasions when shipping was involved.
His thoughtful gifts had touched her because he’d put so much care into choosing things he knew she’d love, such as the shiny new garden tools and the cookbooks.
Not to mention the diamond bracelet she had loved.
No one had ever treated her the way he did, as if she were the most precious thing in his life even if his sons were at the top of his list, as they should be. But he made her feel damned important to him.
She turned over, put an arm across his abdomen, and without waking, he pulled her in closer to him.
Chelsea sighed with contentment. She felt happy and safe when he was with her, no matter what they were doing. Even when he sat at her bar and shot the shit with other patrons during her shifts. Being in the same room with him comforted her.
“You’re restless, sweetheart,” he said in a sleepy-sounding voice. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t turn off my brain.”
“Come here.” He settled her head on his chest and ran his fingers through her hair. “Better?”
“Mmm.”
“What’re you thinking about?”
“My mother, of all things.” Kevin had yet to meet any of her family, which would change when her brother’s family came for a visit Labor Day weekend.
“What about her?”
“She never got over my dad leaving her for someone else. In twenty years, she’s never so much as thought about being with another man.”
“That’s too bad. What’s got you thinking about that?”
“I never want to be like her, you know? I’ve gone out of my way to avoid situations that could turn me into a younger version of her.”
“I don’t know your mom, but I do know you. And you went through a difficult thing when your dad left, but it hasn’t made you bitter or angry.”
“In some ways it did. I’ve been all about the drive-by relationships, because if you don’t get too involved, you can’t get hurt.
I moved out here to get away from the family drama fifteen summers ago and never left.
I feel like I’ve backed into my life rather than making deliberate choices about what I want. ”
“Do you realize you just told me more about you in one minute than you have in the last year?”
“Did I?”
“Uh-huh. Why do you suppose that is?”
“Are you shrinking me right now, Doc?”
“Nah. I just want to understand why it’s hard for you to talk about yourself.”
Chelsea thought about that. “You want to know something I’ve never told anyone else?”
“Very much so.”
He made it so damned easy for her to be vulnerable with him. That was one of the things she loved best about him. “She blames me for my dad leaving.”
Kevin shifted them so he could see her face. “What? Why?”
“He left her for my best friend’s mom. I brought the best friend—and her mom—into our lives. She was different toward me after everything that happened.”
“Chelsea, honey… It was not your fault. You have to know that, right?”
She shrugged. “I guess…”
“I guarantee you he was unhappy in his marriage long before he met your friend’s mom and decided to leave.”
“How do you know that?”