Page 71 of Finding Hayes
Her words made my chest squeeze.
“I get that.”
“So, tell me… why are you always so hot when you’re around me?” Her voice was all tease now.
“Not sure, Shortcake. I probably always had a crush on you.”
“Hayes.”
“Savannah.” I mimicked her serious tone.
“You did not. You slept in my bed many times. We were always together. You never made a move. And we all know it wasn’t because of lack of experience. When you liked a girl, you always went after her. So don’t bullshit me.”
“I’m not bullshitting you, Sav. I’m being honest. I did have a crush on you. And we spent a lot of years apart, so I guess—I don’t know. Who knows when you’ll leave me high and dry and get the hell out of town? I’m just putting it all out there because what do we have to lose?”
She was quiet for what felt like minutes.
“So then, why didn’t you ever make a move?” she whispered.
It was a great fucking question. I’d thought about it more times than I could count over the years.
“Not sure.”
“Try.”
I thought it over. “Well, I’m trying to think of the best way to explain it. Do you remember that sandcastle competition you talked me into that summer before you left down at the lake?”
“The one where we dominated and won the five-hundred-dollar grand prize?” she said.
“Yes. The one you made me assist you with for seven fucking hours. And you didn’t allow breaks for food and water, if memory serves.” I barked out a laugh, my hand stroking her hair away from her face.
“Of course, I remember. We made the front page of theMagnolia Falls Chronicles.”
“Because everyone else in town was building a basic sandcastle. You built a gigantic farmhouse masterpiece out of sand.” I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. She’d drawn out her plan, and I’d told her she was crazy. It was too big. Too complicated. But that’s the thing about Savannah Abbott. Shenever throws in the towel. She was always determined to master everything she tried.
“And this compares to your supposed crush, how?” She didn’t hide her sarcasm.
“Do you remember how much time we spent building that front porch out of sand, and then at the very end, you were torn about adding chairs that we made out of sticks that would sit on the porch?”
“Yes,” she said, as her chest pounded against mine.
“But then we both decided that it was already perfect just how it was, and we didn’t want to risk ruining it by messing with it.”
“Correct. It was the right call.”
I cleared my throat. “That’s how I felt when I looked at you. Like you were perfect. My favorite person. My best friend. And I was a lost kid, you know? Getting into fights and getting into trouble. I never wanted to do anything to mess up the best thing I had going for me. So, I tended to date people that weren’t very good for me. Because I think I probably felt more comfortable in volatile situations where there was nothing to lose, you know?”
She was quiet, and then she sniffed a few times. “You were my favorite person, too. And you’ve grown into such an impressive man.”
“Sav, don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Make me into someone I’m not. I’m closed off. Unfriendly. Far from impressive.”
“That’s not what I see when I look at you,” she whispered. “I see a man who would do anything to protect his sister because he loves her so fiercely. A man who would walk through fire for his friends. A man who takes his responsibility as a godfather to Cutler very seriously, hence the endless supply of chocolate milk in the refrigerator. A man who was willing to marry a woman hehadn’t seen in over a decade because she needed him. Even after she left him and was quick to believe the worst in him. A man with a huge heart that he hides behind all these sexy muscles,” she said, with a little chuckle.
I didn’t respond. I was still processing her words, which was difficult with her pressed against me.
