he kissed me?
Why?
Nothing could stop the crying now. Sobs racked my body, and I ran toward the main house. My vision was blurred from the tears, but I knew the way. No prob—
“Ow!” I screamed as I fell on the walkway. I’d tripped over something. Not that I could see anything at the moment.
My knee hurt a little, though the fabric of my jeans hadn’t ripped. Nothing I couldn’t handle. Growing up on a ranch, I’d had more than my share of cuts and bruises, and I’d learned how to walk it off the way my brothers did.
Not this time, though.
Not this time.
I cried. I crumpled on the walkway, and I cried and I cried and I cried.
Moments passed—how many? I didn’t know—while I sat on the concrete walkway, hugging my knees to my body as the weeping continued. Did I truly have this many tears to give? Would it ever stop?
I wiped my nose on my arm. Gross, but what other choice did I have? I sniffed back as much as I could, when—
“Hey.” A hand clamped down on my shoulder.
I jerked and looked up. The face was blurry through my tears, but I’d recognize it anywhere.
I sniffled. “Go away, Bryce.”
He didn’t. Instead, he pulled a red bandana out of his pocket and handed it to me. I blew my nose unceremoniously into the soft cloth. Not ladylike at all, but it sure felt good to expel the watery snot. Embarrassment warmed my skin. Or heck, it could have been from my meltdown. Probably both.
With the only dry part left on the bandana, I wiped my eyes. Then I handed it back to Bryce. “Here.”
“Keep it.”
“I don’t want it.” I threw it at him. It landed on the grass next to his feet.
“Look, Marj—”
“Please, spare me your words. I’ve no more use for them. Not after…” I shook my head. I couldn’t finish. Couldn’t bring the words out of my throat.
Bryce sat down on the grass across from me. “Look at me,” he said gently.
What the hell? I knew I was a disgusting mess. I met his blue gaze.
“I never meant to hurt you.”
I scoffed.
“I mean it.”
“The words you chose weren’t hurtful at all,” I said sarcastically. “And you couldn’t even say them to my face. You left me a note, Bryce. A note!”
“I just—”
I held up a hand. “Don’t even try to excuse it. It was cowardly, and you know it.”
“I had to.”
“Really? You couldn’t have dumped me to my face?”
I regretted my word choice as soon as I spoke. Dumped implied we’d been in a relationship. We hadn’t been. He’d been clear on that from the beginning.
“No, I couldn’t.”
“Because you’re a coward.”
“That’s part of it. I won’t deny it.”
“Part of it? Come on.” I rolled my eyes. “That’s all of it. A real man would have said the words to my face.”
“A real man?”
“Yeah. A real man. You’re lacking there.”
He shook his head. “You have no idea. A real man wouldn’t start something he can’t finish. A real man knows his limitations. A real man… Fuck.”
“I grew up with three real men, Bryce. You don’t have to educate me on what a real man is.”
“A real man, Marjorie? Would a real man do this?” He cupped my cheeks and kissed me.
Again.
Hard.
This time I didn’t start with my lips pressed shut.
Chapter Nine
Bryce
Her lips were salty from her tears—tears I had caused. But I didn’t ruminate on that, not in this instant, when she opened for me so lovingly. How could I do this to her? Kiss her like this, when I’d leave her again? I had no control around this woman. These thoughts were jumbled in my mind until they became fragmented and shapeless. Feeling replaced them. Pure, raw feeling. Feeling like I’d never experienced, and I knew instinctively I never would again.
She kissed me back.
She was in love with me. She’d said the words. But she didn’t know I was in love with her.
Had I really thought I could resist her? Had I really thought I could live half a mile away from her, work for her brothers, and still never see her?
I deepened the kiss, taking all her sweetness and goodness that I could. Our mouths molded together as though they were one. As if they’ve been made to produce the ultimate kiss.
I kissed her and I kissed her and I kissed her, sliding my lips against hers, my tongue against hers, exploring every crevice of her warm, sweet mouth. How I wished it could go