sons. “Now, I’m going to chat with my guests until they leave and then properly celebrate my retirement by taking Meredith upstairs and—”
“Yeah. That’s enough, Dad.” Jake groans.
Branson laughs, giving his sons a final handshake, and leaves to join his wife.
Jake slips a hand in his pocket and looks at his brother. “I’ll wrap this up if you two need to go.”
“We’re fine,” I say. I remove my hand from Trevor’s as discreetly as I can. “We can absolutely stay and help you clean up, if you’d like.”
“No, we can’t,” Trevor says.
I look up at him, nonplussed. “Yes. We can.”
Jake laughs. “You’re losing your touch, Trev.”
Instead of ribbing him back, Trevor locks his jaw.
“On that note”—Jake points at Trevor—“I’m going to go check on the guests. While I could kick your ass, I don’t really want to do it tonight.”
“Good night, Jake,” I say.
“If I don’t see you again, it was nice to meet you, Haley.”
“Same here.”
Jake slips into a small crowd that’s laughing behind us. It takes all of two seconds for Trevor to spin me around to face him.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not.” I set my jaw too. “Why does something have to be wrong?”
His Adam’s apple moves in his throat as his eyes heat.
I squirm, my dress too hot. Too tight. Too everything.
“I need some fresh air,” I say.
He takes my hand again. “I’ll take you.”
“I can go alone.”
“Yup,” he says, pulling me toward the door.
With a flick of the handle, it swings open. A moment later, we’re outside. The sky is dark, the moon and stars bright. I close my eyes and feel the cool air on my face. When I open my eyes, Trevor is in front of me.
“You give good advice,” he says, his voice soft.
“Why?”
“I was honest with Liz.”
The sound of her name on his lips is like nails on a chalkboard. I’m not even sure what he had to be honest with her about.
“I thought you said you were very clear with her from the start?” I ask.
He looks at the ground, slipping both hands in his pockets. “I was. Sort of.” He raises his eyes to mine. “I heard what you said about people wanting what they can’t have. And how maybe she’s misinterpreting my behavior as playing hard to get.”
I run my hands up and down my arms. “And?”
“And I talked to her tonight. I told her I probably suck at communication. That I wasn’t playing games with her. She’s a great person and she’ll make a great companion for someone, but that someone isn’t me.”
What?
My hands falter. His eyes meet mine. They make me forget about the temperature and the stars and how eight caramelized figs are seven too many. All I can focus on is the sincerity in his beautiful blue eyes.
“She said seeing you with me tonight helped,” he says.
“I’m glad.”
He grins. “She said I never looked at her like I look at you.”
My stomach drops to my knees as I catch the heaviness of his words. I don’t know what to say to that or if I heard it right or if it means anything other than he thinks I’m crazy.
My mind races and my mouth can’t catch up. “I—”
My words are stolen by his lips touching mine. A rush of helplessness washes over me as I sink into his arms. He pulls me so close to his strong, hard body that we may as well be one. As I go limp, the world outside his lips blurs.
He tastes like the sting of bourbon and the sweetness of Coke, and of the hundred fantasies I’ve had of this exact moment. Only those daydreams weren’t nearly as satisfying as having Trevor Kelly in the flesh.
My lips part, giving him permission to do all the things he’s telling me without words he wants to do. He slips his tongue inside, gentle but demanding, like he can’t wait a moment longer.
His nose nudges mine, his hands cup my face. He makes contact in every way possible as we kiss under the moonlight.
Breathless, I pull back. He rests his forehead against mine, and I’m not sure if his groan is because I stopped the act or because it happened at all.
I suck in a lungful of air, every cell in my body tingling. He locks his hands at the small of my back and keeps his forehead touching mine.
“There’s no room for Jesus.” It’s a dumb thing to say, but it’s all I can come up with.
He