Chapter 5
REED
Iwatch her drive away and know she’s taken a part of me. A part of me I didn’t know existed.
Since the moment I stepped into my place this morning, I knew I’d screwed up by leaving the way I did.
No note.
No waking her up.
Nothing.
And the way she looked at me confirmed it. Still, somehow, I talked her into spending time with me. Then she stepped out of the car dressed so fucking pretty, I upped the ante with my stupid-ass mouth and fubar’ed everything to kingdom come by telling her to change.
Fuck. I have to adjust my raging hard-on before I walk back to my place.
Not because anyone would see it, no one came up this way, but because of how painfully stiff I am.
So hard it literally hurts. It surprised the hell out of me just how damn sexy I thought Camila’sr fire and sassiness were when she put me in my place.
My dick throbbed when she didn’t hold back and politely told me to go to hell.
I love how she didn’t put up with my shit. Love how she puts me in my place.
Love. There’s that damn pesky word again.
It’s been playing on repeat this morning when it comes to my thoughts of her. Which only occur about every other minute or so. I run my fingers through my hair and put my long hair in a ponytail before shaking my head in frustration. Why am I such an idiot around her?
I’ve never been a smooth operator, but I never had any problems with the ladies in the past.
That’s because they weren’t Camila.
My ray of sunshine is in a whole other league.
Now, thanks to my big-ass mouth, she isn’t only pissed but driving. Worry hits my gut like a fucking right hook. I pace back and forth in my living room, my mind conjuring up all the different possibilities that can happen.
She could hit a patch of black ice. She could lose control of her car if the road hasn’t been salted. Or worse, she could meet someone in town. Someone who will see the beauty and magic I see and claim her for his own.
My eyes catch the gleam of my car keys siting in the bowl atop of the entry table, and without a thought or a plan, completely unlike myself, I grab them and head out.
With every hundred feet I drive, I’m glad I don’t see her SUV on the side of the road. Even more grateful that the roads have been plowed and salted since she seriously needs chains on her tires.
It’s not until I see her car parked off Main Street that I feel like I can breathe again.
I park a couple of cars down from her and wave to Dax, Moonlit Pine’’s Sheriff and my friend.
He’s across the street. He waves back before stepping into a store.
I start to walk, peeking into the windows of every shop I pass. Trying to get a glimpse of her in one.
I feel out of control.
It’s like I’m an addict trying to find my next hit. One after another and nothing until finally, I see her. The bright-ass yellow beanie she wears is moving down an aisle, and I look up to see what store she is in.
I’m shocked to find her inside the second-hand store, but that’s when I finally relax. I stand out front, pretending my cell has all my attention when in reality, it’s the woman inside the store. She’s looking at the throw blankets, and as if sensing my gaze, her eyes meet mine and she frowns.
But she doesn’t come out to talk to me.
Instead, she turns around and misses the way her actions make me smile.
Me!
I smile and even chuckle as I enjoy the way she’s ignoring me when she knows very well I followed her. Shit I came to town for her. She has me doing things so completely out of my wheelhouse, and she doesn’t have a clue how she’s spun my life out of control.
For a moment, I wonder about my life if she had never come into town. The idea of never having laid eyes on my little ray of sunshine burns a hole in my gut. No. I’m more than grateful she’s here.
Twenty minutes later, she steps out with a bag and walks past me like I’m painted on the wall, and I chuckle again. I follow her, from store to store, waiting outside like an obedient puppy.
Thankfully, she takes mercy on me after the second shop when she steps out and puts her hands on her hips. Her light brown gaze filled with fiery spirit and sass.
“What?” she asks, finally acknowledging my presence.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize sincerely, and her shoulders slump slightly.
“For what?” she asks, not making it easy on me, and I’m fucking grateful for that, too. Who would have thought her busting my balls would be something I was grateful for?
“For trying to tell you what to wear. It’s not my place. I just...” What could I say? I don’t want any other man to look at you? To think about what you would feel like in their arms and in their bed because I want that and more? Where the hell are these thoughts coming from?
“I just… uhh…”—I scratch the back of my neck—“worried it’d be cold.”
“Cold?” she repeats and shakes her head. Her eyes flutter shut for a moment as a self-depreciating smile appears over face. “Of course.” Her smile is tight, and everything inside me goes on full alert. I fucked up again but have no idea how. “Wanna have lunch?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I answer too quickly, unable to ask about that smile or take back the stupid lie. “Only if you will let me treat you,” I bring up as we start walking toward the diner.
“Reed.” She turns her attention to me. I take the bags from her hands, and she lets me.
“Least I can do for being an overbearing jackass.” I shrug as I start walking again.
“I didn’t call you that,” she mutters. Without looking at her, I know she’s smiling.
“But you thought it?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder, and I see that adorable dimple pop out to say hi. Fuck me, I love that dimple.
“Maybe,” she mutters, and I bark out with laughter.
It’s rough and raspy, and when I look at her, she’s no longer next to me but behind me. She’s looking at me with awe and wonder. Fucking Christ. I want to know what I did so I can make her look at me that way for the rest of my life.
Danger! Danger! Danger! A red siren goes off in the back of my head, but I ignore it as she starts to walk again, and I don’t move until she’s next to me. The diner is too close for my own taste.
I wanna walk next to her forever and a day. Instead, I open the door for her and lead us toward a booth in the back. We sit and eat and talk.
She tells me more about her mom and how close they were.
How a drunk driver killed her and how she never had the chance to say goodbye.
How her uncle never bothered to make an appearance in her life despite knowing she was alone.
I hate that for her. Hate knowing she has been alone for so long.
Only with her best friend, whom it’s obvious she misses more than she’s willing to admit.
My ray of sunshine has had to be so strong for so long, and all I find myself wanting is to make her life easier somehow. To be there for her.
Before I know it, our dishes have been cleared and our drinks refilled a couple of times.
Begrudgingly, even though I don’t want our lunch date to end, I take care of the bill, and we head back toward where we parked.
Most of the snow has melted, so I tell her I’ll help her with getting chains for her tires the next day, and thankfully, she agrees.
When I reach my truck, I glance over to see if she’s still there, and the smile that’s been on my face fades away and a scowl takes its place.
I haven’t left her alone for more than five minutes, yet there is a guy talking to her. Someone closer to her age and probably less fucked in the head than me.
But I find as I watch her smile and wave goodbye before getting into her car, I don’t care that I know there’s someone better out there for her. No one will move the stars from the sky the way I can for her.
I have to figure out a way to let her know that and give me a chance. And pray that she can possibly see this old guy as something more than her grumpy neighbor.
Because she is already everything to me.