Page 75 of If You Were Mine (After We Fall 3)
“Yeah, about fifty thousand of them.” I rolled my eyes. “Cabins do not have two-story cathedral ceilings, big screen televisions, or decks.”
“Well, that’s what we’ve always called it.” She shut the dishwasher and turned it on. “It’s a family tradition and my mother takes those very seriously, so it’s not about to change.”
Family traditions. I had zero of those, unless you counted skipping out on people. Failing them. “You came up here a lot when you were growing up?”
She leaned back against the counter next to me. “Yes. Tomorrow I’ll show you my favorite trails for kissing.”
I burst out laughing. “For what?”
“Hiking,” she said, her cheeks turning scarlet. “I meant hiking.”
“Too bad.” I looked down at her, nearly nose to nose. “I like kissing.”
A hushed moment of tension.
“Uh, I’ll show you where you can sleep.” She hurried away from me, moving around the counter and into the great room. “There’s a nice bedroom downstairs with a view of the lake.”
The only view I wanted was one with her in it, but I nodded politely. “Perfect. Thank you.”
“Did you bring a bag?” she asked, looking around.
“It’s still in the car. I’ll grab it.” I grabbed my keys from my coat pocket. “I wasn’t sure you were going to let me stay.”
“I wasn’t even going to let you in,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest and stepping back as I passed her. “But you wore me down.”
“Wasn’t that hard,” I teased, walking backward toward the door. “Softie.”
“I am a softie.” She stood up taller. “I can admit it. And I believe in second chances.”
“Lucky for me.”
Her face lit up, her cheeks flushing pink. She was so fucking pretty. I felt like I’d never get tired of looking at her. Talking to her. Being with her.
And as I hurried through the howling, icy wind and snow to my car, I realized she’d made me believe in second chances, too.
* * *
“Theo.”
I thought I was dreaming when I heard her whisper my name, but a moment later, I heard it again. Felt the mattress shift as she crawled beneath the covers.
“Theo.”
I opened my eyes and looked toward her voice in the dark, my heart beating fast. “Claire? Are you OK?”
“Yes.” She moved closer to me and I immediately put my arms around her. “I just missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“Can I sleep with you?”
“Of course.” I wasn’t sure if she meant actual sleep or something else, but I wasn’t going to push it. If all she wanted to do was close her eyes and let me hold her all night long, I’d do it.
“I was lying in bed up there, and I couldn’t stop thinking about everything you told me.” Her left hand rested on my bare chest, one fingertip brushing back and forth over my skin. “Everything you’ve been through.”
I swallowed hard, and tried not to think about my dick. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I felt so sad. I keep imagining how hard it must have been for you guys to grow up without a mother, with a father who abused you. The two people who are supposed to love you the most and take care of you.” She sniffed and snuggled closer, wrapping her arm around me. “I want to go back in time and hug you. Protect you. Rescue you. Change your life so that none of the bad stuff would happen.”
