squeaked open and Tucker stood in the doorway.
“Coconut?” He laughed as he ran his hand through his hair and kicked the door closed behind him. I could feel my face turn pink with embarrassment.
“It reminds me of you.” I captured my bottom lip between my teeth and chewed on it nervously.
Tucker took two quick steps, closing the space between us, and cupped my face in his hands.
“If you wanted to smell me, Cass, all you had to do was invite me over.” His lips pulled into a slight grin. I placed my hand on his as he gently caressed my cheek.
“I did. You were late.” I smirked as his eyes met mine.
“My flight was delayed. I’m sorry.” His eyes drifted over the stack of boxes behind me. “Let me make it up to you.” His gaze flicked from my eyes to my mouth. His tongue rolled over his bottom lip, and I knew I was powerless to resist him any longer. His lips met mine hard, and my knees immediately buckled under his touch. His left arm looped around my back and held me firmly against him, keeping me from falling. Even without hitting the ground, I had fallen for this man a long time ago.
I let my mouth open slightly, and Tucker ran his tongue over my lips, causing me to moan as I pushed my tongue against his. My hands slid up his toned chest and into his messy hair. I gripped it, tugging gently as he deepened our kiss.
Panic began to set in as I thought of where this had gotten us before. My body stiffened involuntarily at the memory. Tucker broke away from our kiss and searched my eyes with worry marring his beautiful face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, struggling to steady his breathing.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can . . . not yet.”
His hand slid from my cheek to the back of my head as he pulled me against his chest.
“I’ll wait forever. Just don’t run away from me again.” He kissed the top of my head. “As long as it takes.”
I nodded and listened to the soothing steady rhythm of his heartbeat. I don’t know how I ever went a day without hearing the sound of it. His voice broke through my thoughts as his chest vibrated against my ear with each word.
“You ready to go start our forever?”
I pulled back to look up into his eyes. I wanted him to see that I meant every word I was about to say.
“I don’t ever want to spend another minute apart.” I spoke with as much confidence as I could muster, even though I was terrified about taking this next step with Tuck and leaving my new apartment—my flimsy attempt at a fresh start—behind to spend the next few months on the road with him and his band, Damaged. I glanced around my cramped apartment, suddenly realizing that, even though it was familiar, it no longer felt like my home. Tucker’s arms were my home, no matter where they took me.
2
I TOOK A DEEP breath and nodded. He tucked a strand of my dirty blond hair behind my ear and winked before turning around and opening the door. Two large men stepped inside and began grabbing boxes to carry out of the apartment. I picked up my small bag that I had packed for our trip.
“Come on.” He bent down, grabbing my bag from me and taking my hand to pull me toward the front door. We made our way down the flight of steps and out the door. Tucker’s bike was just off the sidewalk. He grabbed my helmet and held it out for me with a smile, revealing his dimples. There was no other place I wanted to be than wherever Tucker was. I watched him straddle his bike and kick back the kickstand. The bike roared to life underneath him as I flung my leg across it and wrapped my arms around Tucker’s waist. I had no idea where we were going, and I didn’t care. I took my bag from him and looped it over my shoulder. I rested my head against his back and closed my eyes, letting the sunshine beat down on my face as we made our way out of the city.
We weaved through the traffic on I-95 as the larger buildings faded into the distance until we were surrounded by trees. I realized that we were heading toward Eddington. We exited the highway and came to a stop sign. Tucker’s hands went to mine and rubbed them soothingly.
“I want to show you something,” he called over his shoulder. I nodded against his back as his muscles flexed and pulled as the bike turned down Maple Street. We flew by the roads leading to my old house. I relaxed a little more knowing I wouldn’t have to face the demons of my past. We slowed and turned onto an old dirt road lined by trees. As we came through a clearing, I realized where we were. Old Basin Cemetery. Tucker pulled off into the grass and shut off the motorcycle.
“Why are we here?” This wasn’t the place my mother and Jax had been buried. I didn’t know anyone who had been laid to rest here. I slid off the bike and pulled the helmet from my head, running my free hand through my hair. I looked out over the field that was dotted with headstones: some old, some new. Tucker got off the bike and grabbed my helmet from my hand before removing his. He slid the bag off my shoulder and hung it on the handlebars.
“I have a surprise for you.” He reached for my hand and I let him intertwine our fingers. He pulled me toward the small field, and I let my feet drag, wondering what he could possibly have in store for me.
We leisurely strolled to the back of the cemetery to a small tree with a tiny angel statue placed beside it. I looked up at Tucker with confusion. He let go of my hand and nodded toward the stone. He rubbed his palms together nervously as I stepped forward, tucking my hair behind my ears and bending down to read the inscription.
Another angel has taken flight
Cass Daniels & Tucker White
I reached out and ran my fingers over the cold stone, feeling the indents of each letter. Tucker knelt at my side, his hands fisted together in front of his mouth.
“How?” I could barely choke out the word.
“I thought it would be good to have a place to grieve. Somewhere without all of the bad memories.” His eyes misted over as he stared ahead at the stone.
It made it all seem so real. My hand fell to my stomach as I thought about that awful night.
“I’m sorry. I just thought . . .” he tried to explain. I reached over and gripped his forearm tightly.
“No, it’s perfect. Our child deserved a place in this world.” I nodded. He swallowed and looked down at the grass. The wind began to blow, whipping my hair in front of my face. Tucker turned to me and brushed it aside. His forehead fell against mine, and I closed my eyes, breathing in deeply and taking in his scent of freedom. “Thank you,” I whispered. He stood and held his hand down to me. I placed mine against his palm, and he effortlessly pulled me to my feet and into his arms.
“Whatever happens with us, we will get through it together. If it hurts you, it hurts me too, Cass.”
I nodded into his chest, unable to find the words to express how grateful I was that he fought so hard to be with me.
“Come on. We have memories to make.” He pulled back and shot me a wink that still had the power to make me blush. I grabbed his hand as we made the walk back to his bike. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, Tucker and I belonged together. Now we had our own angel looking over us. As we reached the bike, Tucker grabbed my helmet and slid it over my head, fastening the strap below my chin.
“We have a long ride ahead of us.” He gripped the waist of my sundress and pulled me closer, kissing me hard on the lips before taking a step back and slipping on his helmet. He got on his bike, and I followed suit, wrapping my arms around his waist and running my fingers along the ridges of his stomach muscles.
We drove out of the small cemetery and headed back onto the highway. I was thankful it was a warm day since I had decided to wear a dress today. Still, the wind made it chilly as we left Eddington and all of our horrible experiences behind us. I had no idea where we were going, and I didn’t really care. I watched the cars around us go by in a blur as we made our way to Interstate 75. We rode for hours, only stopping to refuel and stretch our legs.
Traffic began to pick up, and we slowed to a crawl as we made our way to Atlanta. I had never been there before and couldn’t wrap my head around the sheer amount of people that populated the city. Everyone had their own destination, and they were oblivious to the hordes of people around them.
