Page 103 of Let’s Be Real

He gave my shoulders a squeeze. “I’m not falling apart. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

With a sigh, he turned his head to run his nose along my forehead and into my hair. “Thinking we need to have some fun, like the alpine slide. I want to make you smile like you did that day. I’ve been falling down on the job.”

That wasn’t what I’d been expecting him to say.

Not at all.

“I hope I’m not a job.” I poked his chest. “You already have one of those.”

“Nah. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re my girl.”

I smiled against his skin, so pleased and relieved I could barely stay still. “Look—you did it! You got me to smile! And all you had to do was call me your girl.”

He took my chin between his fingers, tipping my head back. When he saw my smile, he mirrored it, though his was laced with exhaustion and didn’t reach his eyes.

He might’ve thought my smiles were his responsibility, but his peace was mine, and there was one sure way I knew how to shut his mind off.

Pushing up on my hands and knees, I hovered over him, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“You’ve had a long, long day, Natey.” I moved lower, kissing the center of his chest then the top of his abdomen. “You’ve been taking care of everyone. Let me take care of you.”

I crawled down his body, kissing and rubbing my face along his torso. His fingers tangled in the back of my hair as he mumbled half-hearted objections, making no real move to stop me. He even lifted his hips so I could pull down his pajama pants and briefs.

I took my time, drawing out his pleasure. His length was smooth and heavy in my mouth, and the sounds he made were music to my ears. He never stopped touching me, stroking my hair and jaw. Feeling my lips stretched around him, dipping his finger inside to follow my tongue.

He said things like, “You’re too good to me, sweet girl.”

And, “You don’t understand.”

And, “That’s right. How can you know what I need when I have no idea?”

And, “What would I do without you?”

He came with a sigh, filling my mouth, then went heavy beneath me, even before I returned to my spot on his chest. His eyes were slits as he turned his head toward me.

“Too good,” he mumbled.

“Go to sleep, Natey.”

His arm curled around me, holding me tight. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t. I’m not.”

His arm went even tighter. “Promise?”

“I promise. You’re stuck with me.”

Chapter Thirty-six

Nate

Samantha’s skirt whirled around her legs as her head tipped back, releasing her laughter to the star-filled sky. The band rolled into the next song without pause, fiddle and guitar chasing each other across the fairgrounds. Her boots trampled the dirt and flattened grass, and I did my best to keep up with her.

That was all I’d been doing the past couple weeks—keeping up. When I stopped, when it was quiet, I had time to think. To remember what it felt like standing at the end of the hallway, overhearing the worst parts of Samantha and Rosalie’s conversation.

At least I hoped to god it had been the worst. I couldn’t imagine anything more gutting than my ex telling the woman I had fallen in love with she wished she’d never met me.