Page 84 of Shine For Me

She looks like she wants to argue that point, but we’ve reached the end of the drive, her mother’s cottage coming into view. There are a few lights on inside, but the exterior is dark.

“You sure I can’t sneak in there with you?” I ask. “I could climb in your window.”

She snorts. “I’ll think you’ll survive one night on your own.”

“Just one night, huh?” We pause outside the front door and I pull her into my arms. “Does that mean I can sneak in tomorrow night?”

She pats the side of my face. “Okay, a few nights.”

I groan. “No fair, sweetheart. I miss you.”

Even in the darkness I can see the pink stain on her cheeks. “You do?”

“Of course I do.” I brush a kiss against her warm cheek. “I got used to waking up next to you in North Carolina. Now I just wake up to the sound of Bodhi singing every damn morning.”

She laughs. “Maybe it’s time you got your own place.”

The craziest thought hits me and I have to kiss her again so I won’t blurt it out.Maybe we can get a place together.That’s what I was about to say to her. After dating for five weeks I’m already thinking about living with her. That’s crazy, right? We can’t even go out publicly yet.

But even knowing it’s crazy, I can’t quite banish the thought of it from my mind. I can picture it so clearly, what it would be like to see June every day. To have breakfast together in the morning and fall asleep wrapped around each other at night. It would be like it was at her beach house in North Carolina, but this time it would be permanent.

But I can’t say any of that to June. Not unless I want her to think I’m a lunatic. So I kiss her instead, wondering the whole time if she can sense the near-desperation in my touch.

“I should go in,” she says, but she doesn’t move. “My mom is probably waiting up.”

“This is kind of fun,” I murmur against her mouth. “Dropping a girl off at her mother’s. I feel like I’m in high school all over again.”

Her breathy laugh washes over my skin, making me want to kiss her again. “I bet you drove the girls in high school crazy.”

“Maybe a little.”

Suddenly the light over our heads clicks on and a loud male voice booms out, “what the hell is going on here?” I jump back so fast I fall into a flowering shrub.

“Okay, now it really feels like high school,” I mutter, rubbing at my arm. Those prickershurt.

I look up to see a dark shape in the doorway. I’m about to push June behind me when the screen slams open and the guy steps into the light.

“Jude!” she squeals, throwing herself at the figure. He laughs, catching her up in a tight hug.

“I thought I heard you.” He eyes me over her head, his gaze narrowing. “What were you doing out here in the dark?”

She scoffs as she pulls back. “Don’t play the protective big brother card. You suck at it.”

“Hey! I’m an excellent big brother!”

“Last year I got my birthday card from you in August.”

“See? I sent you a card! And I put twenty bucks in there, if I remember.”

“Jude, my birthday is in March!” But she doesn’t actually sound annoyed about it. In fact, she’s grinning so big it looks like it might hurt her face.

So this is the brother I didn’t know existed. He looks like an older version of June’s twin. Same dark hair as June and Grey. Same chocolate eyes. But while Grey is always impeccably dressed, his hair perfectly tousled and chiseled face clean shaven, Jude is basically a mess. His hair is longish and pulled back in a messy ponytail, which matches the scruff on his face. He’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt, both of which are covered in liberal amounts of mud.

“You couldn’t take a shower?” June asks, apparently doing her own perusal of her brother.

“I came straight from the vines to see you, missy. Glad to see it’s appreciated.”

“How are the grapes?”