short, much less end it completely. But the unease in his voice couldn’t be ignored.
“Sure, let’s take a walk outside.” She led him out the front door so he wouldn’t see the surprise she was making. As they descended the steps, she said, “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, there’s just something that’s been eating away at me all day.”
“What is it?” She tried to concentrate on the warm sun kissing her cheeks, the FESTIVAL ON THE GREEN banner hanging across the road, and the colorful decorations on the ornate iron fences and old-fashioned streetlights that lined the brick-paved road, instead of the knots tightening inside her as she waited for him to say more.
“I know I came on strong with you, Carls, and I asked for all of your free time. But I realize now that was selfish. I don’t want to impede in your life and make you miss out on the time with your friends, or—”
“Or what, Zevy? What are you trying to say?” She felt like she was going to cry. Great job of managing your expectations, Carly. Was this the end?
He stopped walking, turning troubled eyes to her. “Babe, Cutter asked if I was coming with you to the Roadhouse tonight. He said you go every week. I don’t want to sound like a jealous prick, but if there’s some other guy, or parts of your life you don’t want me involved in, then we should talk about it.”
“What?” She was confused by his question, and her words came out angrily. “I told you there were no other guys.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me about the Roadhouse?” he asked carefully, not accusatorily. “Is it because you’re not sure about us and you want to keep that part of your life separate until you’re sure? It’s okay if it is. I just want to understand where you’re coming from.”
“No, that’s not it at all.” She pressed her hand to her chest, trying to calm herself down. “God, I thought you didn’t want to keep seeing me, or you decided to leave early.”
“Aw, shit. Hell no, babe. I’m sorry.” He gathered her in his arms and said, “I just don’t want to mess this up, and if that means backing off, I’ll do it. If you need time with your friends, take it. You’ve got a life, and I want to add to it, not make you miss out on it.”
“Oh, Zevy,” she said softly, wanting to bottle up his vulnerability. He was so virile, and he’d been pouring his heart out so openly, it was easy to forget that he was risking his heart, too. “Remember how I said that if I learned one thing from Tory’s death, it was to spend time with the people I care about while I have the chance?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Birdie’s family, the Whiskeys, hang out at the Roadhouse. I go Wednesday nights to spend time with them. I didn’t tell you because you’re special to me, too, and selfishly I wanted time alone with you. I wanted to see what you had in store for us tonight. That’s all.”
A nearly silent laugh fell from his lips. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Christ, I’m an idiot.” He shifted his eyes away.
“No. You’re communicating, and that’s a good thing. It’s so much better than taking off and thinking you’re doing the right thing when you’re not.” She took his hand and said, “I’m scared about how all of this will end up, but I don’t want to hide you, Zevy. I guess I just wanted to hide with you.” The relief rolled off him as he pulled her into his arms and told her how much he needed to hear that.
“I want to hide with you, too.” He pushed his hands into her hair and pressed his lips to hers, soothing all of her frazzled pieces and lingering as if it were soothing his, too. He kept her close after the kiss, like he’d been doing, and said, “But as much as I want you all to myself, the Whiskeys are important to you, and that makes them important to me. I want to get to know the people who helped you and care about you.”
“You do?” She felt teary again. What was going on with her?
“I do, babe. You didn’t just lose me when I left. You drifted away from my family, too, and they’d been your family since we were kids. I can’t stop thinking about how much worse I made things for you. The last thing