by Unknown
“Crap. I’ve gotta run,” she said, standing. “I’m late for my last class.” She stopped to look at me. “Sorry, were you going to say something else?”
“Um . . . no, no I’m good. See you later.”
She waved bye, and I watched her rush out of Fresh Foods, my mind at a loss as to how I had sat with her for half an hour and yet still she didn’t know about me and Preston. I slumped back in my chair, resolved that the next time I saw her, I would tell her . . . I had to.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I stood outside Preston’s truck, my bag in hand, my mind still contemplating how I could get out of spending Thanksgiving break at his house. There couldn’t be a worse idea. But Kara knew I had no other plans.
Preston opened the back door for me after I insisted that Kara ride up front. “You’re coming. I won’t take no for an answer.”
I glanced back at the door to Liberty. We were waiting for Kara to appear. “But she still doesn’t know,” I whispered. “Don’t you think that’s a problem? Like a huge, monstrous problem?”
He leaned down, his lips grazing my cheek. “It doesn’t matter to me what she knows.”
I jerked away from him at the sight of Kara rushing out of Liberty, and then we were all piled in Preston’s truck, on our way to his house. The awkwardness in the small cabin was enough to make me want to scream out, “I’m hooking up with your best friend. Okay, maybe not hooking up. But I’m thinking about it. In fact, it’s all I can think about!” Which was why I forced Kara to ride shotgun despite Preston’s rules against it—and despite his devilish looks. I couldn’t sit beside him with Kara behind us, able to see our every move. I would go insane.
So, I relaxed into the backseat and listened as Kara told us about her parents’ trip up to Jackson Hole for the holiday and how they hadn’t even invited her to go. I had yet to meet Kara’s parents, but I couldn’t imagine mine ever going on a trip over a holiday break without inviting me. I knew she had a younger sister, too, so I wondered whether the sister was going with them or visiting Preston’s house like Kara.
This was going to be my first week without seeing Rose since the semester began. I realized that I was going to miss her, so I called just before we left and she made me promise to bring the black memory box with me. I knew she was disappointed that we hadn’t worked up to looking at another photo or talking about what happened next on the night of the fire, but I had enough on my plate with everything with Preston and Kara. I couldn’t handle another meltdown. Not now. I suspected she would tell me that I was avoiding the problem, and she would be right. Rose was always right, which meant I needed to prepare myself. The first week back, Rose would force me to dig back into the box and my memories of the fire.
“Olivia?”
My attention snapped to the front of the car. “Yeah?” I hadn’t realized I’d zoned out.
“We’re stopping for a potty break,” Kara said. “Or I am. Do you need to go?”
My eyes flashed to Preston, who shook his head just a touch in the rearview mirror. “Uh, no. No, I’m fine.”
Preston pulled into a QT a few minutes later, and Kara dashed out to go to the bathroom and grab drinks and snacks for everyone. I leaned forward as soon as she was safely inside, prepared to ask him why he didn’t want me to go, when he threaded his fingers into my hair, gripping my head and gently pulling me toward him, his lips on mine before I could complete my thought. His tongue slipped inside my mouth, exploring and tasting, as though he were savoring something rare and delicious. I released a small moan, and the simple kiss became hungry. He pulled me closer, my body leaning completely across the arm rest and into the driver seat. I wanted to lose myself in the moment, forget where we were and who might be watching, but I knew Kara was seconds from coming back to the truck and I didn’t want her to catch us like this again.
With an insane amount of effort, I separated from him, smiling as I kissed his lips once more. “This is becoming a problem.”
“You being in the backseat is a problem. This”—he kissed me again—“is never a problem.”
“Kara is going to be back any second.”
“Right. So remind me again why she doesn’t know about us?”
My heartbeat seemed to change rhythm in my chest. Us. I smiled again. “I tried to tell her, but she’s had issues lately.”
I didn’t want to bring up Ethan, when I wasn’t sure whether they had discussed it, but then Preston added, “Yeah, I know. It’s all she talks about. Ethan and whether he’s cheating.”
“Do you think he is?”
“Hell no. It’s Ethan. He’s as good as they come, but Kara has always been the jealous type.”
I sat back, ran my hands through my now disheveled hair, and caught sight of Preston watching me in the rearview mirror. “What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. You’re just . . .”
“What?”
I was expecting him to start giving me a hard time for being so careful around Kara, but he just said, “Beautiful.” Our gazes locked and I wished more than anything that we were alone in his truck, no worries or thoughts except each other.
I lowered my eyes. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Who’s not?”
My eyes jerked over to the open passenger-side door. I hadn’t even noticed Kara walk by. “Er, nothing.”
“Well, that bathroom was a disaster. But I got you some of that orange vitaminwater you like,” she said, passing me the bottle.
“Aw, thanks. You’re the best.”
“And . . .” She smiled over at Preston. “I got you your favorite.” She passed Preston a Mountain Dew and a bag of Combos. I had never once seen him eat or drink either, which just proved how little I knew about him.
Preston knocked her arm with his elbow. “See, I knew I brought you for a reason.”
Kara grinned. “Okay, then, what were you talking about while I was gone?”
“Nothing,” Preston and I said together, and then he added with a crooked smile, “Actually, we didn’t talk at all.”
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
***
We arrived at Preston’s lakefront house an hour later, and immediately I felt as though I were stepping onto land filled with history. The house itself was one hundred percent southern. Four-sided brick with long white columns that spoke of elegance and a simpler time. There were no other homes visible, and even from the driveway I could smell the earthy scent of the lake that went on forever behind the house.
My mom always had an aversion to lakes. She claimed they were dirty and filled with bacteria, so she never let my sisters and I go in one as children. I still remember the first time I swam in a lake. We were on this camping trip, and Trisha and Matt dared me to dive in. Even as a teen, Mom had instilled fear in me that I would contract some flesh-eating bacteria if I swam in a lake, so I refused. Eventually, Matt picked me up and threw me in. A week later, I was the sickest I had ever been in my life. That was the one and only time I’d ever been in a lake. But I was different now, and I didn’t let my mother’s rules apply to me anymore. I was with Preston. And if he asked me to jump in the lake, if he told me it was safe, I knew I would jump. I trusted him that much.
The realization made my heart swell, and I turned to look at him, only to find him watching me, a small smile on his face. “So, what do you think?”
“I think it’s breathtaking.”
“Wait until you see the inside,” Kara said, looping her arm through mine. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
I glanced back at Preston, who just shrugged, so I followed Kara up the wide front steps and into the house. The smell of cinnamon and warm apples immediately hit my nose, and I had to keep myself from sighing out loud. It reminded me of when my mom used to cook when we were little, before all house chores defaulted to our housekeep
er, Corrine. I missed that version of my mom.
As Kara had promised, the outside of Preston’s house was nothing compared to the inside. Deep maple wood floors stretched from the foyer on into a large, open common area, where a fire crackled in greeting. Two sets of stairs, one on the right, the other the left, curved up to a second floor. We passed two closed doors as we edged farther into the house and then a dining room with an arched entryway on the right and a study with French doors on the left. The house was beautiful in every way, but it didn’t feel like a modern home. It felt comfortable and lived in, the sort of house that had more memories than a great-grandmother.
I breathed in the sweet smell of baked goods and smiled over at Kara. “Wow.”
Kara nodded at the kitchen. “I know. It smells amazing, doesn’t it? It’s like that all the time here. Mrs. Riggs cooks continuously. Her turkey is the best you’ll ever eat.”
“Is that Carebear I hear in there?” A short woman with white-blond hair and wrinkles made from laughing came bustling into the foyer. She wiped her hands on her Good Cooking is Southern apron and then reached out for Kara, pulling her into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you!”
I smiled. Clearly, Kara wasn’t the only one who ended every sentence with enthusiasm.
Mrs. Riggs glanced over at me with a giant grin. “And you must be Olivia. Kara told me you would be joining us. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have you.” I started to thank her, when Preston came through the front door and she let out a shriek and ran over to him. “Oh, honey!” she said, hugging him, then she pulled away, her face switching from happy to angry faster than I could blink. “You should be ashamed of yourself for not coming home sooner. It’s been two months, Preston Reid!”
I made a mental note of his middle name. Reid. It, like Preston, fit him.
“Yeah, well, you know the program keeps me busy,” Preston said as he looked away.
“A mother knows when her son is lying. But I’ll be so pleased when you finish. Dr. Brown is getting old. The town needs a new pediatrician.”
Preston opened his mouth to respond, just as an older version of him stepped through the door and Preston’s face lit. “There he is!”
The man wrapped Preston in a tight hug. “Where the hell have you been, bro?” he asked with a laugh. “You know the old man’s a bear when you aren’t around.”
“He’s a bear when I’m around, too.”
“Stop talking about the old man when he isn’t here to defend himself.” Everyone’s head turned toward the opening to the family room, where a man stood, watching us. I wondered how long he had been there. By the look on his face, quite a while, but then his face split into a wide smile. “There’s the daughter I wish I’d had.”
Kara grinned. “Nice to see you, Mr. Riggs.”
“Kara, you have been in this family practically since birth. You know to call us Clark and Joan.”
“Yes, Mr. Riggs,” Kara replied, her smile spreading.
Mr. Riggs sighed. “Some things never change.” His gaze fixed on Preston, the words full of insult.
Preston’s jaw ticked, but he only said, “Good to see you, Dad.”
Mr. Riggs didn’t reply. Instead, his stare switched to me, and I sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling like an intruder. “We’ve heard a lot about you, Olivia. Very pleased to have you here.” My insides relaxed. “If you can believe it, I knew your grandfather well, though your father only when I was younger. How is Richard? Still travelling quite a lot, last I heard.”
“He’s good. And yes, sir. Coke keeps him busy.” My dad had been Coke’s primary lawyer for as long as I could remember, which had him travelling whenever and wherever something came up. His job, while technically in the legal department, expanded to consultation, as he’d become an expert in practically everything in the company. I’d always respected what he did, until that job kept him away more often than at home and I would go days, even weeks, without seeing him.
Mr. Riggs nodded as though he knew just what I was thinking. “Well, Joan has some treats for you all after you get settled. Kara, I take it you can show Olivia to the guest room?”
Kara laughed. “Yes, sir.”
And with that, Preston, Kara, and I went on upstairs and away from the tension between him and his father. Kara led us down the hallway that overlooked the downstairs, before stopping at two doors that were side by side. “We’ll share this room,” she said, opening the door on the right. “And that one”—she pointed to the door to the left of ours—“is Preston’s.”
My eyes fixed on the left-hand door. I wondered if it smelled like his apartment, if it felt like being wrapped up in him. I paused a second too long, and he walked past me, trailing his hand over my back and breathing into my hair. “You know, I’m willing to share mine if you’d rather sleep with me.”
At his closeness, I leaned into him, desperate to feel his warmth against my body. His hands went to my hips, and then Kara spun around in the guest room, and his hands dropped away. “Well? Come on in. You can put your bag down there.” She motioned to the bench at the foot of the king-size bed that she and I would be sharing. “And the closest bathroom is down the hall on the left. Just past Preston’s room.”
I turned back to look at Preston, who was standing in the doorway, his hip leaned against the doorframe. I swallowed hard. This was going to be an excruciating few days. Why hadn’t I told Kara sooner? Now, I was stuck pretending that we were nothing, when all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and press my—
“Olivia?” I whipped around to find Kara staring at me. “What are you doing?”
I shook my head, completely at a loss. “I . . . uh . . .” I glanced over at Preston to see him biting back a laugh. “Nothing. Why?”
“I asked you if you wanted to walk down to the lake. They have an amazing boathouse and a two-story boat ramp. It’s gorgeous this time of day.”
“Oh, sure, yeah, that sounds great.” I ran my hands through my hair and breathed out slowly to calm my racing heart. Yeah, this was definitely going to be a long three days.
Preston left me and Kara to sort out our things, and instantly, I wished he would return. The sureness he exuded was replaced with a harsh emptiness. I knew nothing good could come of the way I needed him around, but I couldn’t stop myself. He was there, buried in my heart . . . whether I liked it or not.
***
The three us made our way down to the boathouse to meet Ethan and Preston’s brother, Trent. Preston walked beside Kara, with me on the other side, and I found myself wishing we could switch places. I needed to touch him. Kara spotted Ethan, who must have just arrived, before the rest of us and took off running down the long boat ramp.
“Looks like they could use a minute,” Preston said. “Want to help me with something?” His gaze landed on me, his eyes saying more than his words.
“Okay.”
He nodded toward the small boathouse to the right of the ramp. From here, it looked dark and empty, as though no one had been in it for ages. I wondered if that was the case with both Trent and Preston out of the house now.
Preston opened the door and hit the light to show a common area with a lodge feel, all wood floors and walls, with a stone fireplace and a giant deer over the mantel. To the left was a small kitchen and bar, then to the right a hallway that led to three closed doors. I started to ask Preston what he needed help with, when I felt him walk up behind me and pull me against his chest. His hands gripped my hips, securing me to him. I drew a slow breath, feeling the urge in me rekindling.
Preston swept my hair off my neck and slowly pressed his lips to my skin, trailing his tongue up to my ear. “I can’t handle being around you without touching you. It’s driving me crazy.”
I turned in his arms, our faces a breath apart. His eyes slipped from mine to my lips, and I felt my heartbeat kicking up. His hands dropped farther
down my back as he tugged me closer. Tension radiated in the air, hovering all around us. I had never been more aware of anyone in my life. I draped my arms around his neck and rose onto my toes. “Kiss me.”
And then his lips were on mine, ravaging my mouth with passion and need. I slipped my tongue into his mouth and he groaned, the sound so manly and full of want that I would have done anything he wanted in that moment. He gripped my backside and lifted me, wrapping my legs around his waist as he walked me to the bar and sat me down on the cool granite. His mouth left mine, and I whimpered momentarily, until he began to unbutton my shirt, his breath warm on my neck as he lowered his mouth to my collarbone. He eyed me as he reached for another button, checking to make sure I was okay, but there were no scars on my chest. I was safe.
Sensing my go-ahead, he unbuttoned another two buttons, heat burning in his eyes as he took in my black lace bra. He started to lower his mouth to my chest, when the sound of someone clearing his throat yanked us back to reality.
Preston jerked up and I quickly buttoned my shirt and jumped off the bar, my cheeks on fire as I took in Trent standing across from us, a wide smile on his face.
“Um, sorry to interrupt,” he said, “but Kara and Ethan are looking for you two.” He turned the knob to the French doors behind him and slipped out, leaving us alone.
I released a long, slow breath. “I—”
Preston reached for me, securing me to him. “Don’t.” He pressed his lips to mine, strong and sure. “Don’t say we shouldn’t. We should. You know it and I know it. This”—he motioned between us—“is too right to be wrong.”
I smiled slowly. “I was going to say that I don’t want to stop.”
His gaze landed on mine, surprise written across his face. “I’m telling her right now. I can’t spend the next three days pretending that I don’t want you, when every fiber in my body craves to be near you.”
