last time. We won’t know until I see for myself, right?”
“Right.” I smiled.
His eyes, clear and bright, smiled at mine.
“How’s old Barney doing?” Sabrina asked, making her presence known.
Everett blinked, then nodded. “His leg’s still acting up, but he’s having no trouble barking orders from his chair in the corner of the store.”
Sabrina snorted. “I’ll bet. You tell him that one of those planter boxes we bought last month has already cracked. He needs to go back to the old supplier.”
“Or we’ll go through them ourselves.” Gloria quirked a brow, then waggled her fingers before vanishing into the back room.
Everett tapped his fingers on the counter. “I’ll pass it on tomorrow morning.” He worked at the hardware store in town five days a week.
Sabrina rounded the counter, staring up into his face for a heartbeat and then patting his cheek. “You’re looking good, boy.”
Everett’s eyes narrowed, but he maneuvered that roguish smile into place and thanked her.
Then he turned to me, leaning over the counter on his elbows, and my eyes traced the facial hair that peppered his jaw. Those emerald eyes penetrated, long strands of hair licking his cheek when he tilted his head.
I let him stare, busy staring myself, then laid my hand over his. “I’m okay.” I smiled when he didn’t let up, laughing low. “I’ll see you at seven.”
“Oh, yeah.” Digging into his pocket, he retrieved a cheap looking smartphone and set it on the counter. “Got a phone.”
Shock held me still, but only for a few seconds before I picked it up to put my number in.
“It’s already there. Learned it by heart years ago.”
I dragged a finger over the glass screen. “Well, I suppose when you leave again, I’ll at least be able to call you.”
His brows lowered and his forehead creased. He pocketed the phone and slowly backed toward the door. “Not going anywhere, Clover. You’ll see.”
“You hated it.” I laughed as everyone in the theater stood and made their way to the exit.
Everett stretched his arms over his head, then let out a loud yawn. “I didn’t hate it.”
“You were bored.”
He bobbed his head side to side, then pinched the air. “Maybe a little.”
I grabbed his hand, pulling him up. He didn’t budge, and instead, he pulled me toward him until I lost my balance and fell into his lap.
“Ever.” I planted my hands on his chest, my thighs cradling his.
Taking their time, his own hands coasted up my back, eyes firm on mine. “Been a while since you’ve called me that.”
“I guess it has.”
While nothing had happened between us since he’d decided to upend his life and make one here, he’d still made no secret of wanting it to. We’d touched, though never like this, and some nights he even fell asleep on my couch with me after we’d watched TV, but I was holding back.
I was waiting, but I was no longer waiting for him.
As my fingers scrunched the crisp shirt he’d donned, and I felt him hard beneath me, I began to wonder why I was too scared to give him a chance.
Aiden wasn’t coming back. He’d made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me. And not only that, but everything I’d ever wanted was finally within grabbing distance.
I just couldn’t bring myself to trust it. To reach out and take it.
“I love you,” he whispered, splitting me wide open as he leaned forward, hands cupping my ass and his lips running over my cheek.
He said it at least once a day, and the way he did so, with such conviction and no expectation, never failed to steal my breath.
Goose bumps erupted over my arms. My eyes fluttered as tingles ignited, a wildfire over every patch of skin he caressed. It felt too good to be touched, to be held, and with such reverence. Unbelievable that he was here. That, for the first time since I’d laid eyes on him, he was putting me first.
“Come on.” Gently, he smacked my ass when I didn’t move. “Let’s get you home.”
I climbed off, and he handed me my purse before nabbing our popcorn boxes.
He dumped them in the trash on the way out, and I was thankful for the warm air as we strolled outside.
“What exactly was it like on the road?” I’d heard secondhand tales from the band, but Everett knew that wasn’t what I was asking. I wanted to know what it was like for him, and I figured it was time to finally ask. To hear