“I wanted to tell you how I felt before you left, but you had just been through so much. So I waited for you to call. And when you didn’t, I just . . .”
“Got angry,” I whispered, watching his eyes widen. “I know exactly how you feel.”
His brows furrowed. “What are you saying?”
It felt as if no time had passed between us, and we were right back at the night in Vegas. We were connected in ways I’d never felt with anyone else. I placed my hands over his.
“I waited for you to call, too. I figured you’d forgotten about that night.”
Ethan’s eyes darkened with need. “There’s no way in hell.”
His lips closed over mine so quickly it caught me off guard. I melted against him and let him devour me, his arms crushing me into his body. It almost felt like I was in a dream, replaying what I wanted to happen in my mind. That at any moment, I’d wake up and be there all alone.
Breaking from the kiss, I slid my hands up to rest on Ethan’s chest.
“Tell me you want this,” he said, his eyes searching mine.
“I do, but it’ll never work. The second people know we’re together, we’ll be exploited. It’s too much stress; it’ll ruin what we have together.”
“Not if we don’t let it. Who says we have to go public?”
“You would be okay with that?”
Smiling, Ethan tucked my hair behind my ear. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work.” Then, taking my hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed it. “As long as I know you’re mine, I can handle anything. Only this time, when you return to North Carolina, I expect you to call me.”
I smiled. “I can handle that. Luckily, I’ll only be gone for a couple of weeks, and then I’m right back here.”
A smirk spread across his face. “And I’m sure we can figure out a way to sneak you into my house. I don’t know if anyone told you, but . . .”
I held up a hand. “Reagan’s already informed me all my stuff is at your house, including my car.”
His gaze narrowed in concern. “How do you feel about that?”
I shrugged. “At first, I was terrified because I knew I’d have to see you at some point, and I didn’t know if I was ready. But now, I think it works out perfectly.”
Ethan stared into my eyes and slowly leaned down to kiss me again. “How long do you have before you head back to Asheville?”
My smile faded. “My mom and I leave the day after tomorrow.”
His arms snaked around my waist. “Tomorrow it is then. I’ll come pick you up at your parents’ house.”
I clutched my hands behind his neck. “That might be a problem.”
He cocked his head to the side. “How come?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said in a singsong voice. “Maybe it’s because I might not be there.”
His gaze narrowed. “Where will you be?”
I winked. “At Reagan and Braden’s. At least, for the morning I will be. I’m spending tonight there and eating Christmas morning breakfast with them. After that, I’ll be with my parents.”
“Ah, I see,” Ethan replied, smirking mischievously. “I’ll just stop by Reagan and Braden’s then.”
“What will you tell my brother when you come to pick me up?”
Chuckling, he held me closer. “I’m sure we’ll think of something. But, right now, we need to get back to the party.”
“Do you think you can keep your hands to yourself?”