Every ounce of resolve inside me had shattered the moment she said I was her choice. And by this point my aggression had morphed into something else entirely. Moving closer to her, putting a stop to all her screaming, as my ears could not take another second of it, I reached for her face and pulled her to me. She stopped talking and fighting the moment our lips touched. And her response had me believing every bit of truth in her words, because she opened up to my kiss completely. Her mouth and her body were mine.

In that second our fight was over. And ending it, feeling her in my arms again, kissing her, tasting her—it felt like I could breathe again. The best part was we’d broken past some sort of barrier. And with no walls between us, every emotion I’d ever felt with Sydney was amplified.

Light touches quickly changed from gentle to greedy to rough.

A moment later, I had her back pressed against the brick wall of the building, her skirt up around her waist, and my mouth moving down her neck. But as much as I wanted a repeat of last night, as much as I was dying to be inside her again, as much as she seemed to want all of that too, I knew we couldn’t do this in broad daylight. There was the sound of people and cars off in the distance. The others were waiting on us, likely to come looking for us at any moment, and as much as it killed me I couldn’t keep going.

Pulling her skirt back into place, breaking our kiss, I took a step backward.

She rubbed her finger over her lips, staring at me. “Wow,” she whispered.

Damn. I was in love. There wasn’t anything sexier on this earth than that very look. I took it in and took a breath. “Sydney, sweetheart, you need to know that I’m probably always going to be the guy who likes ‘to fuck and have a good time.’ But the difference now, the difference that has been there since our first time together…the difference is you’re the only girl I want to be that guy with. I’m sorry for doubting you for a minute there. Sometimes it’s hard to believe a girl like you would ever choose a guy like me. As much as it might not seem like it, I do have my insecurities. Are we okay?”

She nodded.

I smiled. “And you still choose me?”

“Yes,” she said, returning my smile.

“Good. Then I am so fucking ready for this to begin.” I reached out my hand for hers. She gave it me. “Come on, princess. We should go inside before the others come looking for us.”

CHAPTER 15:

SYDNEY

There were butterflies floating around in my stomach and multiplying by the second. It was all Rhett’s fault. Making this decision to be with him, on more than a physical level, was like taking a nose dive off a cliff. There was no 1-2-3 go, there was no moment of hesitation, there was only a jump and the wonderful sensation of free-falling. All I could do was hope that either the bottom would never come, or that I knew how to work the parachute before I hit ground. I hoped for the former. I didn’t want the bottom to come.

Because every time Rhett looked into my eyes, I felt giddy and excited. We were walking back through the hotel, glued to one another, hand-in-hand, and we were never going to make it to the others because we kept stopping along the way for little, stolen kisses.

“Stop, Rhett,” I told him when it happened for a third time, halfheartedly pushing him away. “I’m worried about Georgina, about Noah telling her Ben’s alive. What if she reacts badly to the news that he’s not actually dead? We need to get back to the others. We should be there for them.”

“I know,” he said, putting a pause to our fun and taking a step away. “I’m worried too.”

“And we can’t tell them about us.”

An immediately scowl came to his face. “Why?” he asked slowly.

I didn’t want to upset him. We were finally getting along and on the same page. But we had to do this my way. “Honestly…” Jeez, there was no easy way to say this. So I blurted it out. “Because my brother hates you.”

He chuckled. “Well, that was apparent the moment he hit me in the face because of one little kiss. You know, I had the worst black-eye for nearly two weeks because of him. But what does everyone else have to do with that?”

I squeezed his hand. He just needed to trust me on this one. “Because…we can’t tell other people until I tell him. And you’re going to have to find a way to make him like you. Somehow. My brother is my family.”

“Okay,” he said easily, surprising me. “Done. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, Sydney. I just got you. I’m not going to screw this thing between us up five minutes in. Or ever. So, c’mon.” Now he was tugging me across the lobby. The moment we were in eye-shot of the others, he dropped my hand, increased the distance between our bodies, and the happiness that had been on his face completely disappeared. Indifference, boredom, and a little bit of distaste remained in its place. Talk about scary—the way he could do that. Maybe Nate West wasn’t the only actor in the room. I tried to match his emotion, but I think trying only made me look like a constipated bitch.

“What happened?” Georgina whispered to me immediately. She’d rejoined the group. Not only that, she seemed a hell of a lot better than I ever expected.

“Rhett and I got into an argument.”

“What did he say?” she wanted to know.

“Nothing. Nothing worth repeating.” My eyes darted past Georgina to Rhett. He glanced at me at that very moment. Maybe his face showed nothing but discontent, but his eyes said opposite. We were good. Better than good. And I couldn’t wait for the next time we could be alone together. There was still so much I wanted to say to him. But, alas, that time would have to wait. “How are you?” I asked Georgina, returning my focus to her. “How do you feel about Ben?”

“Really good.” She smiled. “My brother is alive! Why does everyone expect me to be upset? And we’re going to Disneyland. This is going to be the best day.”

I guess our plans had changed. Disneyland was still on the agenda. And I guess Georgina was much stronger than any of us, except maybe Noah, gave her credit for.

* * *

Disneyland was amazing. The rides, the atmosphere, the characters, the food—all of it was more fun than I ever could have guessed. I’d never been. Paris. London. Rome. I’d been around the world and back, but I’d never been to an amusement park before. Somehow that seemed wrong, probably a testament to my strange childhood. But, either way, that wrong had now been corrected today.

Luce had left the group earlier, deciding to spend the day with her uncle who lived in town, so there was no tension coming from that angle. I had to wonder if that decision was about me. I also had to wonder if she had feelings for Rhett. These were questions I couldn’t ask. At least, not yet. Meanwhile, Georgina was exceptionally happy and every time we spoke she only seemed excited about seeing her brother again. Which was good. I was happy for her. As for Rhett and I…well, even if no one else knew, we were also in a really great place.

I think.

He was an expert at the whole ‘ignore-me-all-day’ thing.

The one time he spoke more than a few words to me was to tell me to put sunscreen on, which turned into a slight argument, because obviously I wasn’t about to let him boss me around when everyone else thought we weren’t getting along. Yes, I was blonde. Yes, I had fair skin. Yes, I had a tendency to burn. But no, I didn’t need the reminder. And I was very quick to tell him that. Then again, even if I’d complained, it was nice knowing he was thinking about me and trying to look out for my wellbeing.

After Disney, Ellie, Noah, and Georgina were planning on heading over to Carrie Stone’s house, the elderly women that Ben had been living with for the past nine months, to have dinner. It had been scheduled and Ben knew Ellie and Noah were coming, but he had no idea they were bringing Georgina along too. Which, hopefully, wouldn’t be too much of a shocker for him. Rhett and I had been invited, although neither of us had accepted. There really was no need for Rhett to go. Obviously. As for me…it was still too soon. I couldn’t see him again when Georgina still hadn’t. That didn’t feel right. Plus, after my afternoon with Rhett, I was no longer sure if I even could see him. I’d meant every word I’d said to Rhett, but that didn’t mean seeing Ben again would be easy.