“She did?”

“Yep. Turns out I’m pretty charming. It seems she had a change of heart about giving me dirty looks and writing me off.”

“That’s good,” I replied with a smile. He was definitely charming. “I actually went to see her the other day,” I confessed. I’d remembered how upset Brett was when I wasn’t honest with him about my dinner with the Shaws. “When you were napping.”

“You could have told me.”

“I know, but I didn’t want to bring them up with things between you and me going so well,” I explained. “And honestly, I did it more for me than anyone else. I went over there to tell her that I wasn’t going to be joining them for family dinners anymore and that I was ready to move on with my life.”

“I know how big that was for you,” he said, placing his hand on mine. “I appreciate it more than you know, even if it wasn’t just for me.”

“Thank you.” I kissed him lightly on the lips. “And, I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it wasn’t for you,” I confessed. “I guess it was for both of us.” I looked into his eyes and he smiled.

“It couldn’t have been easy,” he said. “How did his mother take it?”

“She was a little resistant at first, but she heard me out in the end.” I reached for his hand. “And clearly, she’s accepted my decision. She even suggested that I donate some of the clothing I have of Jamie’s,” I said. “Not to mention, I don’t think she’d give out her Grandma’s Baked Chicken recipe to just anyone so she must be okay with you.”

“Guess I’m way more charming than you’ve given me credit for,” he said, tugging me closer to him. His arm circled my waist as he leaned in for a kiss.

“I know exactly how charming you are.” I rose up on my tiptoes to meet his lips with mine.

“In the spirit of full disclosure,” he said, breaking our kiss. “I need to tell you something too.”

“Okay. Should I sit down?”

“You don’t have to,” he smiled, “but if you want, I’ll fix you a plate while I tell you how my day went.”

“Deal,” I said, I pressed my lips to his chin before making my way over to an empty barstool.

“My physical therapy was awesome,” he began, pulling two plates from the cabinet behind him. “Will thinks I’m ready to get released.”

“Oh. Sooner than expected.” I was glad I was sitting. It seemed to make it easier to process exactly what he was telling me.

“He’s sending his recommendations to Dr. Forlani,” He said as he worked on making me a plate. I didn’t miss the way he was focusing more on the chicken than me. Was he scared to tell me? Did he think I was going to lose my mind?

“So when will you go back to Texas?” I asked the first question that had popped in my mind.

“I don’t know. I haven’t got that far ahead in thinking about what it all means. It will all depend on how my next appointment with the doctor goes.” He looked up and I immediately knew exactly why he was avoiding eye contact. The second his blue eyes locked on mine I felt the first tear fall down my cheek. I wasn’t sure which was more upsetting, the fact that I was crying or the fact that he knew me so well to know I would.

“Please don’t. It kills me to see you cry,” he said, reaching over the counter to wipe my cheek. “This is good news. I’m healthy. My leg is better.”

“I know. I know,” I assured him. “These are happy tears,” I lied.

“You don’t have to placate me.” He shook his head as he walked around the counter and sat down next to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him. “I know you’re worried. I know you’re running every worst case scenario through that pretty little head of yours.”

“Maybe.” I was.

“What’s on the top of the list?” he asked. “Most worried about...”

“Us. What if we can’t make a long-distant relationship work?”

“We will,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m not ready for this…for us,” he waved his hand between us, “to end. Are you?”

“No.” I’d just got him. I wasn’t anywhere near ready for us to be over.

“Okay then. We’ll figure out a schedule and make time to see each other,” he assured me. In theory, he was saying exactly what I needed him to say. His optimism was just enough to make me feel a little better. “What’s next?”

“What if you get hurt?”

“Then you’ll get to nurse me back to health again.” He cracked a smile.

“I’m serious.”

“I know you are. Getting hurt is always a possibility. I don’t know what else I can tell you, other than I’ll be careful. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is get hurt. I know it scares you, but I’m a professional motocross rider, Georgia. I’m not some amateur that isn’t thinking through every single move I make. The last accident was way unexpected, yes, and you better believe I’ll be checking out my bike every single time I get on it from here on out.”

“I know you will.”

“Knowing that I have you to come home to is worth me being a little less reckless,” he said, his voice had gone husky. He placed his hands on each side of my face. The intensity in his eyes had me hanging on his every word. “I want a life with you, Georgia. It’s not just me I have to worry about anymore. It’s me and you. From here on out.”

His thumb brushed across my lips as he wiped away the last of the tears. I wouldn’t cry about this anymore. Well, I would try not to anyway. I wanted a life with him, too, and that meant sucking it up and trusting him.

“I want that. I want that so much.”

I leaned forward and kissed his lips. Every kiss between us had been special, but this one was sealing promises that we’d just made. My heart felt like it was going to pound through my chest. The severity of how badly I needed his kiss was threatening my existence. How was I going to make it being apart from him? I’d gotten so used to having him around to talk to. To see whenever I wanted. To touch whenever I felt the need. It was going to be torture.

I felt selfish with him. Greedy even. I never wanted to let him go. I wanted him to stay with me. I wanted a lot of things I knew were not possible. It didn’t matter though, because at that moment I was going to pretend like it all was.

“I need you,” I told him as I stood up. I held onto him, my hands fisted in his shirt like he might slip straight through my fingertips. “Now.”

“You’ve got me,” he promised, slipping his hands down my body and picking me up. My legs circled his waist as he carried me to the living room. The bedroom was too far. There was too much to be done. “I’m right here, baby.”

He lowered me on the sofa before pushing the coffee table far, far away from us across the room. The last thing either of us wanted was an interruption. I started to smile, but his mouth was back on mine before I had the chance. His hand worked the button on my jeans, as his tongue eagerly worked against mine.

My hands tangled in his blond hair as he kissed his way along my jawline—stopping briefly to nibble on my ear and whisper how badly he wanted to taste me. My insides twisted in anticipation. My blood feeling as if it was boiling to the surface. Every inch of my skin was seemingly on fire as his mouth moved to my neck and then to my stomach as he pushed my shirt up to get to my flesh.

When he grabbed the waist of my jeans and started to tug, I lifted my hips up off of the couch, just as anxious as him. As he pulled my jeans and panties down, his mouth moved over my skin as it was revealed to him. Lower and lower until I could feel the heat of his mouth against my most sensitive flesh. As soon as my pants were gone, he moved himself between my thighs—his tongue slipping through my center.

“For fuck’s sake, you are sweet,” he growled, working his mouth in a way I’d never experienced. Each lick, each nip, each time he sucked my clit between his lips I thought I was going to die. The sweetest death I’d ever imagined. His skills were numbing and exhilarating all at the same time. My body reacted as though I’d been possessed, my back arching and muscles contracting, as I tried to get my body closer to his. “That’s it, baby,” he urged. “Come for me.” He pushed two fingers inside of me, adding to the pleasure he was evoking with his mouth.