Just a small taste. Only a small one. What we had was still fragile. If I rushed it, it could shatter us forever. I pressed my lips to hers, savoring the feel of her warm lips against mine. Her lips tasted of vanilla. Pure fucking heaven. Before the kiss could deepen, I pulled back. “Do you feel it?”
“Yes.”
“When things get tough, we hold on to this feeling. We fight like hell to never lose it.”
She pulled me closer. “I’m all in.”
Thank fuck. I let out a breath and held her tight. The letter from Lloyd confused me. He’d approved of me asking Lex to marry me. And he hadn’t been a man to go back on his word without giving you a valid reason. Secret letters and shit weren’t his thing. The handwriting was a man’s, but the words weren’t his. I was sure of it.
Someone had fucked with our lives.
But why?
Somehow, I would get to the bottom of it. But first, I needed to get Lex somewhere safe. She shivered in my arms. Against her forehead, I whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”
“Sounds good.”
Hand in hand, we walked to her truck. “Where are you staying?”
“I’ve been camped out on Teagan’s couch—I came into town, and they left. It feels like I’m cramping their style. They locked the bedroom door. I told Teagan today at the bar I would find somewhere else to stay, and she said that was great. I thought about asking Mom if I could stay there, but with all the changes she made, I don’t think I can do it. I might check into the hotel or go stay at Dad’s cabin. I just don’t know if I’m ready to go out there.”
When I heard about the B&B closing down, I knew Lex would be upset. Irene had nearly gutted the place. It was like she wanted to erase all the memories. Lloyd’s belongings had been auctioned off. It hadn’t been about the money. It had been about Raquel dealing one final blow to Lex. Bitch. And the cabin had been special to Lloyd and Lex. As a kid, she used to go up there with him and help him work on it. Together, they’d restored it to how it had looked when his grandparents built the plac
e. I got why it would be hard to stay there.
The breeze blew, and Lex shivered again, tucking her hair behind her ear. I wasn’t ready to be without her. I could offer my place, but that was likely something Lex wasn’t ready for. She needed somewhere safe to process everything. The letter was still going to be an issue to overcome, mentally. But at least we were going to do it together.
It hit me, and I stopped, pulling Lex up short. “Why don’t you stay at Mom and Dad’s? They have the extra space, and you love it out there.”
For a second, her smile grew, but just as quickly, it dimmed again. “I couldn’t do that. They must hate me after what I did.”
I brought her hand to my lips. I have Lex. She is mine. I took a deep breath and focused back on the situation. “No, they don’t. You’re like a daughter to them. They never stopped loving you. I think they knew we’d find our way back to each other somehow. Mom already called when she got the newsletter.”
Within an hour of Lex leaving the Red Onion, the Red Hot Twiner Tellings newsletter landed in everyone’s email box. According to the Twiner sister, Lex and I were back together. Hollis had tried to break us up. The story was complete with pictures of me carrying Lex up the stairs to my place and us getting in her truck together to head to the Doogle house. And of course, Hollis leaving the Red Onion sporting a bruised jaw. I’d managed to avoid being in the newsletter for two years. Within a day of Lex being back in my life, I was in it again. Life was fucking great.
Hell, in this town, you couldn’t take a piss without someone knowing.
Lex groaned. “I’ve been avoiding checking my email. Is it bad?”
I chuckled. “They’ve got pictures, according to Mom. I haven’t looked.”
“I bet Raquel is going to be mad.” She leaned against her truck door and laughed.
Her sister was a piece of work, acting as if she was better than everyone else. “Has she reached out?”
“No. She’ll track me down tomorrow, I’m sure. Once she finds out Hollis comes from money, she’ll swoop in and try to control that, too. Just wait.” Her fists were clenched at her side. Lex was a firecracker when she got pissed off. With a huff, she released some of the building energy. At some point, she would explode.
Finally, she nodded. “It’ll be fine.”
“It will be. And if she pisses you off too much, we can put food coloring in her mouthwash again.”
Lex laughed out loud, and I smiled at the memory. When Lex was a senior, Raquel had borrowed a pair of Lexi’s shoes and ruined them. In retribution, Lex put green food coloring in her mouthwash. That shit stained her teeth for a while. She looked like she had mold in her mouth. Disgusting.
Lex giggled. “Oh, man, could you picture her at a function with moldy-looking teeth?”
“Classy.”
Things were getting easier between us. She touched my chest and I loved it. Soon I’d get to feel her fall apart in my arms. I grew hard just thinking about being insider her again. Down boy. Just a little more time. “I missed this.”