My lips twisted into a wry smile. “I texted him earlier, but he didn’t respond. What happened?”
“He had his offer accepted on the house. He was at Amber’s when the realtor called before work, and she listened in on the call, meaning he couldn’t tell her. I know we joke about them not breaking up, but I think this could be the real thing this time.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Was it that bad?”
Josh nodded solemnly, flicking away a burned bit of marshmallow. “Huge fight. Me and Kai took him to my place after work and finally got it out of him after three shots of vodka.”
“Wow.” I put together my own s’more. “That explains why I didn’t get a text back.”
“Yeah. He’s passed out in my spare room. He’s gonna feel rough in the morning.” He chuckled. “Seriously, though, I think they’re over. She’s pissed he bought the house without her saying yes.”
“But he told her he was going to.”
Josh shrugged and sipped his hot chocolate. “I don’t know, Kins, but it makes me feel bad for him. All he wants is to settle down, but Amber is so against everything he wants. I don’t know how they’ve actually made it this long without imploding the way they did this morning.”
“I don’t know why she doesn’t want a house. Your house is amazing, and I’m sure Colt’s is, too. Why wouldn’t you want to raise a family there instead of in her apartment? It’s not like she has a huge one.”
“I don’t know. That’s why I bought my house. I’m thirty next year—I need some security in my life, and Colt feels the same.” He leaned back and looked at the fire. The light from the flames danced over his features, and for some reason, he looked more handsome than I’d ever seen him.
The sharp line of his stubbled jaw, his full lips. His enviable cheekbones and long, dark eyelashes that framed eyes that shone in the firelight.
God, he was unfairly, ridiculously, stupidly, romance-novel level handsome.
Worry fizzled in my stomach. If, after ten years, Amber and Colt couldn’t get their shit together, what did that say about us?
I loved my house, and now Colt was buying his, Grandpa’s would likely go to me. It was large enough to raise a family in, but Josh loved his house, too.
What if we ever reached a point where we wanted to get serious like that?
What would we do?
“Hey.” Josh cupped my chin and met my eyes. “Why are you frowning?”
“You own your house,” I said softly. “And now that Colt is buying his house, Grandpa’s will probably be mine when he dies. What if we make it through all this secret stuff and eventually, we need to decide this stuff, then what happens?”
“Stop it.” He moved everything from between us and shuffled over the blanket to be right in front of me, then rested his hands either side of my face. His palms were warm against my cold cheeks, and the look in his eyes was nothing but earnest. “For one thing, this between us is still new. Not that I have any doubts about how I feel about you, but that’s absolutely not anything you need to worry about, you hear me?”
I nodded.
“And for another thing, I don’t care where I live, Kinsley. If it meant I’d get to live with you, I’d live wherever you wanted, however you wanted.” He dipped his face to mine until the tip of his nose kissed mine. “Because I would never ask you to give up a house that means as much to you as your grandpa’s does.”
Warmth rose in my cheeks, but I couldn’t tell if it was a blush or just a general effect of being near him when he was saying the things he was.
And I didn’t know what it was.
Maybe it was the fire. Maybe it was the darkness that made me feel safe or maybe it was the feeling of his hands either side of my face, but it finally hit me.
He really, really cared about me.
Butterflies exploded in my stomach as I leaned into his kiss. My hands crept up to grasp his jacket, the zippers cutting into my palms as the overwhelming sensation of falling hit me.
Not literally.
Emotionally.
It was a wave. Nothing extravagant like a tsunami. It didn’t hit me with a sudden wash of understanding that changed everything I knew in a minute.
No, it was a gentle wave. One that crawled up and covered my toes, breaking as soon as it hit my ankles before dissipating. It came again, this one with a little more power, and the awareness of how I truly felt for Josh spread through my body.
Each wave accompanied a kiss. One after another they spread through me, pushing my feelings for Josh deeper into my bones, into my very soul, until I had no choice but to admit the truth to myself.
I was absolutely, definitely, wholly, undeniably, teetering on the edge of falling in love with Joshua Carter.
Irrevocably so.
Because if I fell, if I was pushed, if I crossed the line, there would be no coming back from it.
If I fell, there would be no way back from loving him.
And I had no choice but to admit to myself that being loved by him would be nothing short of amazing.
A big, fat drop of cold wetness hit me on the cheek, and I jerked back with a squeal. Josh’s alarm quickly turned to bemusement as it kept coming, and it took me far too long to realize it was the rain he’d told me was forecast.
Sizzling filled the air as the rain hit the fire, and the hot wood hissed with every drop that made contact. I understood how the fire felt—my coat wasn’t waterproof, and if I stayed up here any longer, I was going to be a drowned rat by the time we reached halfway down the hike path.
“We have to go!” I squealed, trying to
