Chapter 6
Chapter Six
T he crowds had thinned considerably. All around them, food vendors were shutting down for the night. Many of the artisans had likewise shuttered their booths. The whole place would close soon. Declan wasn’t ready for the night to end.
Apparently Livia wasn’t either. Fingers still tangled with his, she turned toward him. “One last ride on the Ferris wheel before we call it a night?”
“Absolutely.”
They stowed the elephant with the attendant and settled into their gondola. This time, he put his arm around her. She snuggled in, a sign of ease and trust he wasn’t sure he deserved but wasn’t about to waste. It felt too good to hold her, to look up into the cloudless sky and marvel at the ocean of stars that blanketed the little town that was the only place that had ever been home.
Could it be home for Livia? What were the chances that they’d both be looking for a change at the same time? She’d seemed almost embarrassed by not having her life entirely figured out. He had plenty of practice with that state of affairs. If he’d known what the hell he was doing for more than five minutes at a time at any point in the last twelve years, he’d called it good. Tonight was no exception. The past hours with her had been a gift that left him greedy for more. More conversation. More touches. More long looks. Simply more of her. He’d always wanted more of her.
As they stopped at the very top for passengers below to disembark, Declan shifted a little to face her. Livia lifted her head, meeting his gaze. He couldn’t stop himself from stroking his fingers across her cheek to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger.
“Tonight’s been awesome. Getting to reconnect and clear the air.”
The corners of her mouth tipped up into the faintest of smiles. “Yeah.”
Once, he’d have simply leaned in to taste that smile. But he was a lot more cautious than he was at eighteen, and he didn’t want to risk screwing this up again. “I’d really like to kiss you.”
Those lips bowed further, her eyes going dark. “I really wish you would.”
There is a God .
She met him halfway, tipping her face up to his. They both sighed at the contact, melting into each other. And oh God, it was better than he remembered. Her kiss was at once familiar and foreign, marrying the boy he’d been with the man he was. His blood popped and fizzed like champagne, the taste of her leaving him dizzy and struggling not to dive too deep, too fast. With every second that rolled by, it seemed the stress and strain of years fell away, until the only thing remaining was her.
A throat cleared from somewhere close by.
Declan broke the kiss, realizing they were back at the bottom and the attendant was waiting for them to get off the ride. He tightened his arm around Livia as he pressed his brow to hers for just a few more seconds, wishing they had more time.
“Sorry, man, we’re shutting down for the night.”
He untangled himself and flashed an apologetic smile at the guy. “Sorry.”
They waited until the lap bar was unlocked, and Declan scrambled out, reaching back to help Livia onto the platform. She scooped up the elephant and thanked the attendant. In the time it had taken them to finish their ride, it seemed most of the rest of the fair had packed up.
“Looks like we’re more or less closing the place down.”
She glanced around as if noticing for the first time that most of the crowd had disappeared. “I’m guessing Abbey and Kyle headed home a while ago.”
Declan sent up a quick prayer of thanks. He’d get a little longer with her, after all. “I’ll drive you back.”
Hand in hand, they made their way down the quiet streets to where he’d parked his car. Neither of them spoke much, and he appreciated the fact that being silent with her was just as easy as talking. Everything with Livia had always been easy and comfortable. He’d taken it for granted at eighteen. He didn’t want to do that again.
“How much longer are you here?”
“Two weeks. I cashed in a huge chunk of vacation days. After that, I’ve gotta get back to work. And our busy season is about to start at the farm. We’ve got a lot of prep to do before Thanksgiving. Jace has most of it under control, but it’s all hands on deck for the holidays.”
She’d always taken family obligations seriously. It was one of the things he liked about her. He felt exactly the same about his extended foster family, so he understood that considering a life somewhere other than Wishful was a huge deal for her. But he couldn’t stop thinking about how, if he could convince her to move to Eden’s Ridge, they could have the second chance they never really got all those years ago. He wanted that almost more than his next breath. But he recognized that now wasn’t the time for a blatant, full-court press, so he’d have to settle for whatever additional time he could get with her. And he intended to wrangle as much of the next two weeks as possible.
The sensible sedan was a far cry from the ancient pickup Declan had driven back in the day, but he still held Livia’s hand across the center console on the drive back to the orchard. The hum of awareness shivered around them, as if they stood on a precipice. Livia had a general sense of the fragility of whatever lay between them just now. They were both more cautious, so very aware of how life could intervene at any moment. This wasn’t an uncomplicated summer, where possibilities spun out in an endless array of wonder. They both had responsibilities. Lives that didn’t mesh.
And still, the curve of his fingers around hers gave birth to an irrational, impossible hope. The what if? she hadn’t allowed herself to consider before. It was a dangerous and potentially painful question, and a part of Livia wanted to be a reckless optimist. To believe that he was the answer to the wish she’d made back home. But she wasn’t the starry-eyed teen she’d been. And he had more than himself to consider.
Declan pulled up to the house and shut off the car. Kyle and Abbey had left the porch light on for her. They both slid out and made their way up the couple of steps to the front door.
“Do you suppose Abbey’s on the other side waiting to blink the porch light if we take too long, the way your Aunt Faye used to do?”
“If her claims about me being her favorite cousin are true, then no.”
Declan stepped closer, sliding his hands around her waist. “You’re my favorite of her cousins.”
Smirking, Livia slid her arms around his neck. “Met a lot of us, have you?”
“Nope, but you’d win, anyway. Hands down.”
One moment, they were grinning at each other. The next, they were kissing again. Her whole body sighed in pleasure, relaxing against him. The Ferris wheel kiss had been sweet, a tentative exploration. This was more. Declan’s arms tightened beneath the jacket she still wore, hauling her closer, up to her toes to take her mouth in a bid to show her he wasn’t the tentative boy he’d been. Pressed up against the heat of him, it was more than obvious that the man still wanted her. The idea of it was a heady drug, one that threatened to overcome her good sense.
Again, he was the one who pulled back, clear reluctance in the motion as he settled his brow against hers with a little laugh. “How can this feel like yesterday?”
Not immune, Livia combed her fingers through his hair in the way she knew he’d always liked, relishing the little purr he made. “Nostalgia is a powerful thing.”
He straightened enough to peer down at her. “You think that’s all this is?”
She swallowed, aware that her answer mattered. “No. No, I don’t.”
“Good.” Gently releasing her, he stepped back, putting space between them. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Livia.”
More than a little giddy at the prospect, she slid off the jacket, handing it back to him. “Tomorrow.”
She waited on the porch until he’d gotten in the car, and he sat there waiting for her to go inside. They were both grinning again when she broke the stalemate with a wave and backed through the front door. She shut it and collapsed back against the wood panels with a gusty sigh, half tempted to keep going and melt into a puddle on the floor, because this was Declan. He was here. He was moving back. And that opened the door for possibilities she hadn’t even considered.
A light went on in the living room.
Livia muffled a shriek before she spotted Abbey perched in the big armchair, hands folded over her enormous pregnant belly, her tongue tucked firmly in cheek. “Looks like someone had a good night.”
Shoving away from the door, Livia strode into the living room, grabbing a pillow off the sofa and hugging it to her chest before falling face first onto the cushions with another happy sigh. “Yes. Yes, I did. Thank you for your interference, Miss Nosy.”
“I really didn’t do anything. Kyle just made sure it was widely known in the family that you were going to be here. What Declan did with that was up to him. I gather you finally talked?”
“Yeah. Thanks. You already knew about his daughter, didn’t you?”
Abbey nodded. “I heard a few years ago. You were so insistent on not wanting to know anything about him, I kept the lid on it. But I wouldn’t have pushed you back toward him if I didn’t think there was something still there. Was I right?”
“You weren’t peeking out the sidelight?”
Abbey lifted her nose with an imperious expression. “I have more restraint than that.”
“Restraint or an inability to move fast because of Hank the Tank?” She eyed her cousin’s massive belly.
“The two are not mutually exclusive. So? Dish! You spent all night with him. That’s good, right?”
“Yeah, our attraction is still alive and well.” Livia tucked the pillow beneath her head. “He’s moving back here.”
“Really? I didn’t know that. Does it change things for you?”
“I don’t know. One night hardly seems enough justification to make any major decisions over.” And if she kept telling herself that, she might not make a foolish mistake.
“You’re here for two weeks.”
“I came for you.”
“Psh. If you think I’m going to begrudge you the chance to rekindle things with Declan, you don’t know me as well as I thought you did. You and I are fine. Besides, I have a vested interest in this. If he is moving back here and you fall for him all over again, maybe it’ll convince you to move up here.”
Livia shot her the side eye.
“Oh, don’t act like you weren’t thinking about it, anyway. How awesome would it be to come back to be with him?”
A wish come true. But she was no Cinderella.
“Attraction doesn’t pay the bills. Wherever I might prospectively go, I need a job. Preferably one I’d actually like. Eden’s Ridge doesn’t seem to be just overflowing with opportunities for a librarian.”
“You don’t know that. You haven’t looked yet.”
“I can’t imagine that a library in a town even smaller than Wishful has a budget any better off than ours.”
“You never know. The library here serves all of Stone County. It’s worth checking.”
“And I probably will check. But I’m not moving here just for Declan. Things are too up in the air. I can’t turn my life upside down on a maybe. I need more certainty than that.” But she couldn’t deny that she was tempted.
“Baby, there are no guarantees in life other than death and taxes. If there’s more than an iota of a shot for you and Declan, isn’t it worth taking it?”
That was the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. One she wouldn’t allow herself to consider. Not yet.
“I’ll take the next couple of weeks and whatever they bring and be grateful for finally getting closure. It’s more than I expected to have with him.”
Abbey made a noise of disgust. “Closure? Really? That’s all you’re willing to reach for?”
“It’s the only thing I’m guaranteed now.” Hell, he’d said he’d see her tomorrow, but they hadn’t actually made plans, and he didn’t even ask for her number. The realization brought her back down to earth. “I’ve got enough uncertainty in my life without adding the complication of Declan to it.”
Catching the twist of Abbey’s expression, Livia just raised a brow. “Careful, or your face will get stuck like that.”
“I’m biting my tongue so hard right now. It’s your life, your heart, so it’s your call. I know that. Just… promise me you’ll give him a chance while you’re here. See what comes of it.”
“It might be nothing.”
“Or it might be everything.”
Livia’s heart gave a little bump. “Fine. I promise to give him the two weeks.”
“Fair enough. We should get to bed. You need your beauty sleep.” Abbey scooted to the edge of the chair and held out her hands. “Now help me up. I’m stuck!”