Too Much Love to Hide (Summer Lake Seasons Book 2)

by SJ McCoy

  “My turn. Until we get a few more ladies around to even up the numbers, you’re going to have to share.”

  Zack’s arm’s tightened instinctively around Maria. He wanted to tell Logan where he could go. Why couldn’t he cut in on Austin and dance with Roxy?

  Maria smiled up at him. “He’s right,” she said. “It’s only fair.”

  Zack’s hand balled into fists as he walked back to the table where Luke gave him a worried look when he sat down. “Cool it, would you? You won’t fool anyone acting like that.”

  Zack shrugged. Right now, he didn’t care about fooling anyone into thinking that he and Maria were just friends. He was more interested in telling the whole world that she was his—and that Logan, and every other guy had better keep their hands off.

  “Calm down,” said Luke. “What’s she going to think when she sees you storming off like that?”

  Zack shrugged, and the adrenaline started to recede. “She knows. She knows how I feel. I couldn’t keep it up. We spent the day together.”

  “Together, together?”

  He nodded.

  “But … I thought … last night you said you liked her, but you couldn’t do anything about it. What changed?”

  Zack had to smile. “My resolve finally crumbled. I can’t not do something about it. I mean,” he turned his head to watch her dancing with Logan, “look at her. I drove her home last night and it was all I could do to drive away when I dropped her off. Today, we had lunch and we got to talking and …” He shrugged again. “I spent the afternoon with her.”

  “And now what? Now you’re together? It didn’t look that way, at least, not until Logan cut in on you.”

  “That’s because it can’t look that way. I shouldn’t be doing this. I told you last night. I shouldn’t let myself get close to her.”

  “Why?” Luke was such an easy-going guy, but he was obviously frustrated.

  “My past. It’s going to find me one day, and when it does, anyone I’m close to is going to be in danger.”

  Luke shook his head. “So, what are you doing? Was this afternoon a one-off?”

  “No. We’re going to start seeing each other—but to everyone else, we’re just going to be friends.”

  “And you think you’ll be able to keep it a secret?”

  “I was hoping so.” Maria had joked earlier about not wanting to see him flirting with other women, what he hadn’t considered was how he would react to other men hitting on her. To be fair, Logan wasn’t hitting on her. They were friends and Logan was just being Logan. But still. Zack had wanted to take him by the throat. How would he react if some stranger was hitting on her?

  Luke raised his eyebrows. “Good luck with that.”

  “Thanks. I think I’m going to need it.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Maria hugged Angel and Roxy. “I’ll catch up with you in the week, ladies.”

  “What about me?” asked Logan.

  She laughed. “I’ll see you when I see you.” She turned to Zack who was already standing a few feet away, ready to go. “Sorry to keep you waiting; are you sure you don’t mind giving me a ride?”

  “It’s not a problem, it’s on my way.” He did such a good job of seeming casual, she had to wonder if maybe he wasn’t as eager to get out of here as she was.

  “I can take you later if you want to stay a while,” said Logan.

  Maria forced a smile. Logan was a sweetie, but he’d gotten in the way so much tonight, it almost felt like he was doing it on purpose. “Thanks, but I’m pooped. I’m ready to go now and since Zack’s leaving anyway …” She shrugged.

  Luke gave her a knowing smile, making her think that Zack must have told him. “You get on home. Get to bed.”

  She felt her cheeks color. Had Zack told him that was the plan? “Yeah. Goodnight.” She caught up to Zack and he started toward the doors without a word.

  Once they were outside in the fresh air, she looked up at him. “Are you okay?”

  “I am. Are you?”

  She nodded. “That was more of a minefield than I expected.”

  “Wasn’t it? Since when has Logan been so into you?”

  She let out a small laugh. “Never. He isn’t, but I will say he has the worst timing. I was so pleased when I managed to get you on the dance floor and then he came and spoiled it.”

  Zack smiled as they reached the truck and he opened the passenger door for her. “I’m glad you thought he spoiled it, too. I had to walk away before I did something stupid. I didn’t want to let him near you.”

  A warm feeling spread though her chest. “You did? I thought you were just playing along with it—looking relieved to be able to get off the dance floor.”

  He shook his head. “No. What I was feeling couldn’t have been further from relief.”

  She climbed up into the truck and smiled down at him. “What were you feeling?”

  He held her gaze for a long moment and then closed the door without a word. Butterflies swirled in her stomach as he walked around to the driver’s side and then got in and leaned on the center console. “I felt jealous and possessive. I know that’s crazy, and I know I have no right to feel that way, but that’s the truth. I wanted to shove him away from you, and I wanted to tell him and the rest of the world that you’re mine.”

  Maria’s heart pounded in her chest. She didn’t like guys who behaved that way. She wasn’t into big macho men who thought they owned their women, but when Zack said she was his, it set her heart racing. She loved the idea!

  “Does that make me an asshole?”

  She laughed. “No. It should. I don’t like jealous men, but I have to tell you, knowing you feel that way about me …” She shuddered as a shiver ran down her spine. “I …” She’d been about to tell him how much it turned her on, but she thought better of it. She was trying to be as straightforward as possible with him, but that seemed just a little too brazen. “I like it,” she said instead.

  He leaned toward her and she lifted her lips to meet his. It was the briefest kiss, but it turned her insides to mush. “We should get you home.”

  She was surprised when he turned into her street. She’d assumed they go back to his place.

  He brought the truck to a stop in the same spot he’d parked in last night. “I think you know that I’d like nothing more than to come inside.”

  She swallowed and made herself focus on the safer meaning of those words. She nodded, and then it hit her. He wasn’t even going to do that—he was dropping her off. She searched his face. “Did something change?”

  He reached over and took hold of her hand. “No, nothing changed. I still want this. I want you.” The way he looked at her, left no doubt of that. “But I need you to be sure first. Tonight was tougher on me than I expected. I think it was for you, too?”

  She couldn’t deny it. She hadn’t enjoyed lying to her friends. The reality of keeping what they were doing a secret was much less appealing than the idea of it. She nodded. “It’s not going to be easy.”

  “I know, so, before we go somewhere that you might regret. I want you to take the time to think about it.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I wouldn’t regret it, Zack.” She smiled and dropped her gaze. “I’ve thought about it ever since that first night when I gave you a ride back over here from Four Mile.”

  His lips twitched into a smile. “You thought about it that night, too?”

  She nodded.

  “I had the toughest time not making a move on you.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  He held her gaze. “Because if I had—if we had—that’s all it would ever have been. I knew even then that you were someone I wanted to have in my life—even if it could only be as a friend.”

  She leaned toward him and landed a kiss on his lips. “I want you in my life, Zack, and not just as a friend.”

  “That’s easy to say, but I want you to take some time and think about it. Think about the bad side of tonight. Think how difficult t
his could be. I don’t know how long we’d have to hide it. And honestly, I need to think about whether I can live with myself.”

  She frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I promised myself I would never, ever put you at risk. If we do this, no matter how careful we are, there’s going to be a risk.”

  “I don’t care.”

  He smiled and smoothed a strand of hair away from her face. “You should. Promise me you’ll think about it?”

  She nodded sadly. “Okay.”

  “Don’t think I don’t want this. It’s going to kill me to drive away from here tonight, but I think we need to cool off. Make a rational decision in the cold hard light of day—not a rushed one fueled by desire.”

  All the muscles in her stomach and lower tightened. He desired her. She knew he did. She desired him, too. She was fairly certain that she could persuade him to ignore his better judgment and come inside with her if she tried. She was also certain that she wasn’t going to change her mind about this. She’d hoped for so long that the two of them might get together. Nothing—not even some murky threat from his past—was going to deter her now. “Okay, then. How long do you want me to think it over?”

  He smiled. “Call me?”

  She laughed. “I’d be calling you before you even made it home.”

  “Do you have plans for tomorrow?”

  “Just waiting for you to call me.”

  He touched her cheek. “I will.”

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning, Maria was awake by seven-thirty—so much for getting to sleep in on her weekend off. She hadn’t slept well at all. She’d tossed and turned all night, thinking about Zack and about what they could be doing if he’d come in with her, or she’d gone home with him. She sat up in bed and leaned back against the pillows. If she wanted to find the bright side, and she almost always did, she could smile at the fact that having spent the last two nights thinking about what might happen between them, she was high on anticipation. She hugged the duvet tight to her chest and felt her nipples stiffen.

  Her whole body seemed to be humming with pent up desire. She wasn’t above taking care of that herself. A girl had to do what she had to do—especially when she’d been single for a long while. She didn’t want to relieve the ache between her legs herself though. She was aching for Zack and she knew that the longer she had to wait, the better it would feel when he finally gave her what she wanted.

  She got out of bed wishing that she’d told him she would call him first thing this morning. Instead, she’d have to wait until whenever he called her. He’d said he would, and she didn’t doubt him, but she hated not knowing when it would be—how long she’d have to wait.

  She’d tried to do as he’d asked and think seriously about whether she was prepared to deal with the reality of what they were doing. She already knew that however tough it might be, it was worth it. When she was younger, one of her uncles had had an affair. She’d listened to her mother and aunts talk about it when he was discovered. The other woman had been a neighbor, and apparently, it had gone on for years. She’d wondered at the time how they’d managed to keep it a secret and how it must feel to sneak around like that, lying to people. That was exactly what she was planning to do with Zack. Granted, they weren’t cheating on anyone. Them seeing each other wasn’t hurting anyone. But from what Zack had said, if this enemy of his found him and found out that they were seeing each other, he might hurt her. She shook her head. She couldn’t take that seriously. She knew she should, but it just couldn’t penetrate the layers of desire and excitement that were making her head feel fuzzy.

  She went downstairs and made herself some coffee. She smiled when she remembered the croissants he’d brought her yesterday—a whole box of them. That was so sweet of him. She wouldn’t have expected him to know what her favorite anything was, but it proved that he’d been paying attention to her while she’d thought he just saw her as a friend.

  She grabbed her phone when it rang and smiled when she saw his name on the display.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, beautiful.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Is it too early?”

  She laughed. “No. I was sitting here by the phone waiting and hoping—and eating croissants to distract myself.”

  He chuckled. “You’re eating croissants? In your PJs?”

  “Uh-huh. Don’t worry, I’ll save you some—you brought me enough of them.”

  He laughed. “I don’t mind if you eat them all by yourself—as long as I can watch.”

  “Watch?”

  “Yeah.” His voice sounded deeper, gruffer somehow, and she knew that he was thinking naughty thoughts. Though why croissants would have that effect on him she had no idea. “Why?”

  He sighed, and her scalp tingled at the sound of it. “Because, Maria mía, you make it so damned obvious how much you enjoy them. You let yourself go and it makes me …”

  She swallowed. Angel had teased her before that she made sex noises when she ate those croissants—they were just so damned good. “Makes you what?” she breathed.

  “It makes me hard. It makes me want you even more.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say. She knew what she wanted, though. “Why don’t you come over, then? I just made a pot of coffee and there are plenty of croissants left.”

  She could almost hear his internal struggle. “Did you think about what this means? Are you sure you want to do this?”

  She laughed. “I did, and I want to do it. I’m too tempted to think straight right now, but when I was thinking straight, when I accepted that this will not be easy, and that it might even be dangerous, I still wanted it. I want you Zack. I want there to be an us.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She laughed. “Yes. How many ways do you want me to say it? Oh, I know what will help to convince you. I’m going to start eating another croissant right now.”

  He chuckled. “I’m on my way.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Zack parked on the street in front of her house and looked around as he walked up the path to the front door. He couldn’t see anyone around, though that was hardly surprising at nine o’clock on a Sunday morning. The little hairs on the back of his neck stood up at the thought that someone could be around—someone could be watching him—and he wouldn’t know. Just because he’d dashed over here at the thought of getting to see Maria eat her croissants, he couldn’t afford to get careless. He couldn’t let his desire for her make him forget. He had a feeling he knew where things were about to go between them—he couldn’t hold out for much longer, and it sounded like Maria didn’t want to hold out at all. But they had other business to take care of today as well. He was going to be here for the next week. He wanted to see as much of her as he could in that time, but he wanted to come up with a plausible reason for them to spend a lot of time together.

  He knocked on the door and had to bite the inside of his lip when she opened it. She was still in her pajamas. Her long black hair was tied up in a messy pony tail—and she had a half-eaten croissant in her hand.

  She greeted him with a smile. “That didn’t take you long.”

  He chuckled. “I got here as fast as I could. I wasn’t joking when I said I want to watch you eat that.”

  She held the door open and stood back for him to come in. “I thought I’d be starting another one just for you by the time you get here. Do you want one of your own and a coffee?”

  “Just a coffee for me, thanks.” He followed her through to the kitchen and perched on a stool at the counter while she poured him a coffee.

  She set it down in front of him with a smile. “I’m glad you called early. I was dreading spending the day waiting and wondering.”

  “I should have left it until later, given you more time to think this over …”

  She shook her head with a smile. “I spent most of the night thinking about it. I didn’t want to. I already knew what my answer would be
, but I promised you I’d think about it, so I did. I know it’s going to be difficult and I know there might be some risk involved. But,” she smiled and put her hands on his knees, “I think you’re worth it.”

  He took hold of her hands and drew her closer until she was standing between his legs and his arms were closed around her. “I’ll do my best to be worth it.”

  She laughed and reached for her croissant. “I’m hoping that if I keep eating this, you’ll at least make it worth my while.”

  A wave of heat surged through his veins, and his cock sprang to life. He wanted to tell her that there was no rush to go there, but he couldn’t make himself speak.

  She gave him a wicked smile and took a bite of the croissant and gave a satisfied little moan. “Oh, God. That’s so good.”

  He watched her lips move as she chewed slowly. “You are a wicked woman. And I thought you were so sweet.”

  She chuckled and sucked the tip of her finger. “What’s wicked about enjoying my breakfast?”

  He put his hands on her hips and drew her closer again. “Nothing, as long as you understand that it makes me want you for breakfast.”

  She nodded. “I understand.” She put the pastry down and looped her arms up around his neck. “That’s what I want, too.”

  He couldn’t hold out. He dropped his head to kiss her and slid his hands around to finally hold her amazing ass. She let out another little moan when he started to squeeze.

  He lifted his head. “Better than croissants?” he asked with a smile.

  She laughed. “Not yet, but you’re only just getting started, right?”

  He smiled through pursed lips and slid down from the stool, picking her up and setting her in his place. All his intentions of taking things slowly flew out the window. He wanted her, and he wanted her now.

  She looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of desire and trust. It made him even harder to know that she felt that way about him. He put his hands on her shoulders, then slid them up to cup the sides of her neck. “I am just getting started—we are just getting started, but I need you to tell me one more time that you’re sure.”