Page 52 of Come Back to Me

He leans in and cups my face with his hands. Before I know it, his lips claim mine. His lips are soft and gentle. It’s as if I’m kissing a small, plush pillow. His hands leave my face and make their way to my waist.

My heart is beating so loud and fast. I wonder if he can hear it. I hope not.

He pulls me onto his lap, my legs ending up behind him. His hands are exploring the silky fabric of my dress. “Do you want to take my shirt off, or is it okay if I do it?”

“You can do it.”

I feel like I’m watching a romance movie where there’s a scene that becomes slow motion because he’s taking off his shirt incredibly slowly to build the anticipation.

Once his shirt is off, I’m unable to speak. A lump travels all the way into my throat.

Wow.

My fingers travel down from his neck to his abs, tracing the outlines of them.

“Having fun there?”

“Oh, definitely.”

“You’re so cute.” He kisses me on the forehead. “Happy birthday. I love you, Violet.”

“I love you more, Grayson.”

now

VIOLET

“Despite how that night started out, it ended up becoming one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had,” I say.

“You stopped talking to your mom, right?”

I nod. “I stopped talking to her when I got into SCU. I haven’t talked to her in like five or six years.”

“Has she tried to reach out to you at all?”

“Nope.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me? As much as I hate to ask this, do you know what your brother has been up to? I haven’t talked to him in six years, so I have no clue what he’s doing now or where he is.”

“Last I heard, he’s been running Sublime, our family’s fashion and beauty magazine. I think he still lives in Sunset Cove.”

I move into the kitchen, sitting on the chair closest to the front door. Grayson sits across from me. Peeping my head outside, I notice that it’s getting dark. The sun sets, filling the sky with beautiful pinks, purples, and oranges.

“Have you talked to your dad lately?” I ask as I turn my head away from the window, so I can look at his face.

“No, I haven’t. I have no idea where he is or what he’s up to.” He glances at the table before his gaze meets mine. “After we fled Breakwater, my mom moved into a shelter for her own protection. I wanted to live with her, but she didn’t want me to live a life of moving from shelter to shelter. She’s in a totally different shelter now because they all have different requirements when it comes to how long residents can stay with them. I lived with Noah’s family for a few years. When I got into SCU, Noah and I moved into this apartment. Xander needed a place to stay, so we offered him the other bedroom as long as he contributed to various expenses. The lease, groceries, utilities, all of that fun shit.”

“Noah never told me you lived with him.”

“Yeah, Noah doesn’t tell us a lot of things. For example, he never told me how he’s been secretly talking to you behind my back.”

“Right,” I reply awkwardly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to direct my anger at you like that. I’m just annoyed. I don’t understand why he didn’t tell me he’s been talking to you.”

“You know why he didn’t tell you, and that reason was exposed today.”

“Yeah. It wasn’t my finest moment, was it?”