When their lips finally parted, slow and longingly, they were both breathless. Justin kept her close, their foreheads touching, and said, “I’ve been dying to do that since the first time I set eyes on you.”
Her thundering heart drowned out the sounds of the sea, but Justin’s confession cut right through both. “Me too.” She knew if he kissed her again, she wouldn’t want to stop, and she wasn’t quite ready for that, so she sat back and said, “You’d better finish your story because kissing you is…”
“Addictive?”
“Uh-huh.”
He flashed an arrogant grin and said, “Afraid of attacking me again?”
Yes. “No,” she said unconvincingly. “It’s just…I want to hear the rest.”
“Yeah, okay. That should be real easy when all the blood in my brain has rushed south.” He chuckled, and she swatted him. “Hey, it’s your fault, sweet lips. I was just sitting here and all of a sudden you were all over me.”
She swatted at him again, laughing as he caught her hand midair and tugged her forward, pressing his lips to hers.
“That was my fault,” he said in a low voice. “And just so we’re clear, I’m going to finish my story, but I’m not done with that incredible mouth of yours.”
In her head she was doing a happy dance, but outwardly, she lifted her chin and said, “We’ll see about that. So, did you take Vi’s advice or not?”
“I did. I asked Preacher if he’d ever consider adopting me.” Justin’s expression turned thoughtful, like he was remembering that very moment. “He said he and Reba had been hoping I might want that one day.”
“Yay!” Chloe exclaimed. “I knew they must have agreed, since your last name is Wicked, but hearing it makes me happy.”
“It was definitely a yay moment. I could have gotten emancipated, and it was probably a prick move on my part not to, but I wanted my father to physically and mentally relinquish his parental rights. I’d hoped that by having him actually sign over his rights, somewhere in his cold heart he’d feel the loss.”
“That’s understandable. I don’t think it was a prick move. Do you think he felt bad?”
“No. But that’s okay. In the end, I’d done what I needed to do for my own peace of mind, and just having that tie legally severed set me free. The same way that becoming a Wicked felt like I’d finally found my home.”
Chloe may not have had a new family when she’d left home to finish college, but she knew what it was like to finally have a place where she felt safe.
They sat on the beach for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts. She felt so close to him. Knowing Justin had overcome so much, understanding the man he truly was and all that he stood for, gave her great admiration for him.
At some point they shifted positions, and Justin tucked her against his side, so they were both facing the water. They talked a little here and there, watching a piece of driftwood moving toward the shore with the force of the waves and then floating back out.
“That driftwood reminds me of how I feel every time I see my mother. It doesn’t matter how much I accomplish, or how far I go. When I see her, she still makes me feel like I’m moving backward, drifting, fighting to move forward, to find my island, but never able to stay there.” She rested her head on Justin’s shoulder and said, “I see your settling in with the Wickeds in that driftwood, too. But instead of being pulled back out to sea, the land was your old life and you were consistently drawn into the welcoming arms of a family as vast and deep as the sea.”
Justin rested his head against hers and said, “Two pieces of driftwood looking for their island. That’s you and me.”
“I think you found yours with Rob and Reba.”
“Maybe, but a wise woman just described my family life perfectly as the deep blue sea, so I’m holding out for my island.”
The salty air whipped around them, and Chloe shivered again. How long had they been out there? An hour? Two? She didn’t know or care. All she knew was that she felt closer to Justin than she’d ever felt to anyone, and tonight was right up there at the top of her best nights ever list, right along with the night last weekend when they’d danced beneath the stars.