I open my mouth to protest, but he holds up his hand and continues, “I know that’s insane, and I should have respected your boundaries, and I do realize that eventually, when you were ready, you would have given yourself to me.” He snorts as he looks off to the side. “I was an impatient bastard. Your roommate was pretty and flirty, things got out of hand. It was not your fault. I’m sorry I said those awful things to you.”
My mind drifts back to that night. The night that I caught him in bed with her. He called me a frigid ice queen and said that if I’d put out like a normal girlfriend, he wouldn’t have had to screw my roommate. I stormed out and refused to speak to him or her again. I moved in with Krystal shortly after that.
“You shouldn’t have said what you did, but I forgave you. I forgave everything. I want you in my life, Carter. You’re my best friend.”
He nods. “You’re mine too. Elijah asked me if I loved you. I told him yes, but as a friend, but the thing is, I could easily fall back in love with you, Sophie. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us, but you are so easy to love. I can see how much you love him, but is there any chance for me?”
A sob rips through me. He pulls me into his chest. “I love you, I do.” He kisses my forehead. I stare up into his eyes. “I love you, as my friend.” I pull back, but not totally from his embrace. “I don’t mean this to hurt you, but what I feel for Elijah is so much more than I have ever felt with you.” The hurt that flashes in his eyes makes me look away. “I’m sorry.”
He brings my chin up to study my eyes. He smiles sadly. “Don’t be sorry. I can see that it’s different … more, but I had to be sure.” I nod in understanding. “Let’s get back.” He ends our conversations abruptly, but I don’t mind. I’m eager to get back to Elijah.
“Thanks for bringing me out here and being honest with me. I don’t want things to be hard for you being around me all the time. I’ll understand if you don’t want to come with me to New York.”
He wraps his arm around my neck and gives me a nuggie. I scream and shove him. “No way you’re getting rid of me. Can you imagine all the hot chicks I’ll meet?
I punch his arm. “You’re a pig.”
He winks. “I’m still going, Peaches.”
“Just a forewarning, the paparazzi can be brutal.”
He waves me off. “If you and Elijah can handle it, then so can I.”
We exit the woods, and I spot Elijah by the back porch. I give him a smile and a wave, but my smile turns to a frown when I see the anger on his face.
Carter notices as well. “Hey, E. Sorry to hog her time.” Elijah doesn’t respond, he just stares at us. “Man, look …” Carter stops when Elijah’s hand raises palm up.
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.” His eyes flash to mine. “Pack your stuff, we’re leaving in thirty minutes.”
“But we aren’t scheduled to leave until tomorrow.”
“Now,” he says.
The skin between my eyebrows pinches together as I stare up at him in complete confusion. He’s never spoken to me like this before.
“Elijah, nothing happened,” Carter tries again. “She’d never do that to you.”
“I wouldn’t.” I reach out to touch him and he recoils. “Eli.” My voice shakes. He stares at me. “Please talk to me.” He doesn’t, just continues to stare.
Carter clears his throat. “I’ll be back soon. I gotta get my stuff, I guess.”
Elijah turns to him. “No, only Sophia and I are leaving. The rest of you are leaving tomorrow.”
“Uh, okay then.” He gives me a little wave, mouthing he’s sorry as he walks inside the house.
Tears are falling down my cheeks. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“I don’t know. Get your stuff.”
I run into the house and up to my room. My heart feels like it’s going to rip in half. Why is he so upset? We were only gone about an hour and nothing happened. I shouldn’t go anywhere with him, but I’d prefer not to get into a yelling match in front of my family. Looking around my room, I realize that all of Elijah’s things are gone. I wipe the tears filling my eyes away. Why is he being so mean? I throw all my stuff into my suitcases and head downstairs.
“Ready?” He asks me. His voice calmer. I nod. He grabs my bag.
“Elijah, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Hutch tells him.
Elijah snorts derisively. “I don’t really care. We’ll be back in the morning.” Elijah throws the bags into the trunk and climbs in the driver seat.
Grans, Poppy, and Pop all look on with confused looks on their faces. I shrug and give them a little wave before climbing into the passenger seat. The ride is completely silent. After about an hour, we stop in front of a cabin realty office. Elijah climbs out and goes inside. He returns ten minutes later with a piece of paper and a set of keys. He hands them to me then reverses out of the parking lot. A short while later, we pull up to a small cabin. He takes the keys and heads to the door, still not saying a word to me. I follow him. He stands in the middle of the one bedroom cabin and looks around before turning to me. I just watch him. I couldn’t care less about what this place looks like, all I’m concerned with is why we are here.
“You hurt me.”
I lip trembles. “How?"
“I woke up to find my fiancé gone. No one knew where she was, but seeing her ex-boyfriend's car in the driveway they all suspected you guys were alone in the woods together.”
“It wasn’t like that. Why are we here? So you can yell at me in private?” I snort derisively.
“Basically.”
A sob builds in my throat but I do my best to hold it inside. “If you believe that I would do anything to hurt you on purpose, then you don’t know me at all. I love you more than anything else, Elijah. I told Carter that. I told him that I love you more than I ever loved him.”
“Why did he take you in the woods?”
“He wanted to show me this spot where he likes to watch the sun rise.”
Elijah's hands rest judgmentally on his hips, his brow furrowed, like I’m some errant child. I’m not liking this at all! “Is that it?”
I shake my head. “He wanted to know if he had any chance at all with me, and I immediately told him no.”
“Did you kiss him?”
I scoff in disgust. Not of the thought of kissing Carter, but the thought that he’d think so low of me. “Of course not.”
Elijah’s face softens. “I’m sorry.” He falls down onto the sofa with an exasperated sigh. He puts his hands into his hair as he leans on his elbows on his knees. “I imagined all kinds of awful things in my head.”
I sit on the coffee table in front of him and take his hands into mine. I’m angry, but at the same time I’m not. Carter was a huge part of my life, my ex, I can see why he’d be upset. I would be if the roles were reversed.
“Eli, look at me.” He obeys. “How can you doubt how much I love you?”
He looks at me with tears of his own. “I’m sorry. He just makes me so jealous. I’ve never felt like this before. If I lost you … I’d die, Sophie.”
I cup his face. “Don’t say that. I’ll tell Carter not to come on my tour."
He shakes his head. “No, don’t do that. It’ll be fine. I know nothing will happen. I’m so sorry for how I’ve been treating you. That wasn’t right.”
“You’re right, it wasn’t. We could have settled this at my house, without all the drama, but I forgive you. I’m sorry for not leaving you a note.”
He waves me off and pulls me to him and onto his lap. He kisses my cheek. “I really am sorry.”
“It didn’t look good from the outside. I think I’d react like a jerk too if I saw you coming out of the woods with Keira.”
He chuckles. “Trust me, that will never happen. She hates nature.”
I giggle. “Oh, is that the only reason?”
He scrunches up his face and tickles me. “Of course it is.” He’s teasing, so I know he’s over his little
episode.
“Why did you really bring me here?” There’s no way he planned this after he woke up.
“I just wanted to have a night to ourselves before work and the general chaos of our upcoming schedules took us over and separated us. One night to celebrate our engagement.”
“Thank you. This is very sweet. I’m sorry I almost ruined it.”
He shakes his head. “Nothing is ruined, baby.”
He takes my face in his hands and kisses me deeply. He pulls back so we can both breathe, and I think he will sit back, but he surprises me by sweeping my hair off my shoulder and kissing my neck from behind my ear down to my shoulder, stopping to gently suck the skin. I gasp. He chuckles.
“I love how responsive you are.”
My face flushes in embarrassment. I have very little experience. I mean, we’ve kissed deeply, but he’s never pushed or taken his kisses any father. A few times he’s touched me over my clothes, and I did sit astride him at the pond, but this seems far more intimate to me. His finger trails down my warm cheek.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he tells me. “Trust me, it’s a good thing.” He moves, turning us so that my back is lying against the sofa, and he his hovering over me. “I want to honor your boundaries. So, if I do something that makes you uncomfortable please tell me. I won’t be upset.”
“I will.”
He leans down, kissing me again as he slowly lowers himself against me. He must not be putting all his weight on me because he’s not heavy. Actually, his weight feels good. It makes me feel grounded, loved, and cherished. I lose track of time, lost in him ... in us. When he pulls away, I let out a whimpered protest. He smiles.
“You’re gorgeous.”
“So are you.” I run my fingers down the plains of his chest. I don’t even remember him taking his shirt off.
“We should probably cool off.” He sits up and I sigh. He holds his hand out to me and pulls me to him. “We have plenty of time.” He kisses my temple. “The rest of our lives to explore and learn each other.”
I bury my face into his chest as I mumble. “Stupid moral code.” He laughs riotously.
“It’s your code.”
“I’m well aware, but when you sit there like that,” I gesture to his chiseled naked chest and very visible bulge in his pants, “it makes it difficult to remember why I’m making us wait.”
He takes my hand and kisses the palm. “When you first told me that you were a virgin, and you’d made a commitment to yourself to wait until your wedding night to give yourself to your husband, I thought it was a bit crazy and definitely odd in this day and age. But, the more I got to know you … the more in love I fell with you … I realized that your commitment was made because that is who you are, and I love that about you. It actually made me love you more.” He wraps his arm around me, pulling me close before continuing to speak. “Sex is a wonderful expression of love, but you’ve shown me that I don’t have to have sex with you to know you love me. I know you love me by how you treat me, the things you say and do. Which will make our wedding night even more special. So, thank you.”
I stare at him in disbelief. He’s never once pressured me or gotten annoyed when I’ve pulled away, but I had no idea that because of those things it made him love me more, it’s a mind-blowing realization. I take his face in my hands.
“I love you so much. Thank you for understanding and never pressuring me. I never thought life could be like this. You are the very best thing that has ever happened to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well, let’s not find out.”
Like we’re of the same mind, we wrap our arms around each other and kiss deeply, full of love and promises of a fantastic future together.
9 Cabins & Airplanes
S un shines in my face, making me smile as I stretch out my body under the warmth of the covers. Last night was fantastic. I feel like Elijah and I are closer now than we were before coming to the cabin. Yes, we kissed and explored a bit, but mostly we talked. We talked until we fell asleep. It was by far one of the best nights of my life. The smell of breakfast cooking is too much to handle so I throw back the covers, grab my robe, and head to the kitchen to see what Elijah is up to.
“Smells good,” I say as I wrap my arms around his waist from behind, and kiss his bare shoulder.
He puts the tongs he's using down and turns around to face me. He bends down and picks me up, sitting me on the counter beside the stove. “Did you sleep well?” he asks.
“I did.” I drape my arms over his shoulders and play with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Did you?”
He kisses my nose. “Yep. I like sleeping with you in my arms.”
“Me too.”
“Move in with me when we get back to Los Angeles.” He runs his hand over my hair endearingly.
I scrunch my face. “I don’t know. That seems like a lot of temptation.”
He chuckles and moves to the stove to flip the sausage links he’s frying. “It will be, but you can have your own room until the wedding. Heck, take the master.”
“You’re serious?” I quirk a questioning eyebrow at him. Can I really do this? Do I want to do this? Of course I do, but I don’t think I can. It’s against my moral code.
He cocks his head to the side. “Of course I am. We can stay at my place or buy a new house. Whatever you want.”
“You don’t have to buy a new house.”
He shrugs. “I’ve been looking anyway.” This surprises me.
“Why?” His house is great.
“Well, I figured when we got married, you’d want to pick something out and make it yours.”
“I love your house.” It’s the truth. His mom has it fixed up beautifully. It’s a single guys place without being too ‘Bachelor Paddy’.
“But is it enough? I mean, I have the pool house. Your brother could stay there, and my guys could sleep on the couch on their nights to guard, but what about Carter?”
I scrunch up my face. “What about Carter? He’s going home after my book tour.”
Elijah chuckles, giving me a snide look. “I highly doubt it, sweetheart.”
I ignore that. “I don’t want to pick a house based on my brother or best friend. I want it to be what we want. You haven’t lived there that long, and it’s plenty big enough for us and a couple of kids.”
“Kids, huh?” I blush. He lifts my chin and kisses me softly. “I want tons of babies with you. I think six is a good number.”
My eyes widen in shock. “Six? Really?”
He shrugs. “I’ve always wanted my own football team. You know I have six brothers and sisters, but I grew up basically an only child with my parents being divorced. I’d love to have a house of kids.”
I feel for him, but I know he couldn’t help his parents’ decisions. “I don’t know how many I want, but one sounds good to start.”
“Twins are big in your family.” He winks. I slap his shoulder. But it’s true. My grandpa is a twin, my brothers, and Liam, Jared’s twin, has a set himself. It’s highly likely that I could have twins.
“They are, and if we have twins, it’ll be perfect.”
“Yeah, we could have more kids in less time.” He laughs as I shove him away.
After we’ve eaten our breakfast, we clean up, and pack our belongings to head back to my grandparents. Our flight is in three hours, so we’ll be a little rushed to get there in time.
~*~
Saying goodbye to my family is the hardest thing I’ve done in a while, but I promise to visit and call more often, which mollifies them some. Gran still has tears pouring down her face as we drive away, breaking my heart even more. Elijah wraps his arm around me, pulling me into his chest as he kisses my forehead.
“Sorry, baby,” he whispers.
I shake my head, lifting it to see his face. “It’s okay. I could have been visiting, but I let my hurt feelings and stubbornness get in my way.”
“You, stubborn?” Carter gasps in fak
e surprise. I glare at him. He laughs. Elijah pulls me closer, and I stick my tongue out at Carter childishly, which makes him laugh and shake his head at me.
“You ready for the big city?” Elijah asks him, changing the subject.
Carter grins. “Absolutely! I’ve always wanted to travel. I’ve actually done really well for myself, in my practice, and most of my adult years I’ve lived with my mom, so I’ve been able to save a lot. I might even decide to move. Mom has a boyfriend now, so she doesn’t really need my help.”
My eyes grow wide at the news. “Your mom has a boyfriend? Why haven’t you mentioned it?” I slap his thigh.
His shoulders lift in a shrug. “I don’t know. We don’t normally talk about my mom. But, Frank’s a good guy. They’ve been together for about two years, he moved in about six months ago. Trust me, it is too crowded in that house with the three of us. I had to get out of there.” He grimaces. I can only imagine.
“Where will you move?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know, Peaches. Maybe we can be roommates.” He winks.
“Uh, over my dead body!” Elijah grunts. I turn and smile at him.
“No dead bodies needed. I already agreed to be your roommate,” I waggle my left hand at him. “But I guess you were right about needing a bigger house.”
“Bigger house, why?” Carter asks.
“Well, Jared will need a place to live, and if you are thinking of staying, then why not look for something that has a big guest house?”
“You’d do that?” Carter asks in disbelief.
“It was Eli’s idea.”
Carter, and Jared for that matter, both look impressed. “That would be awesome. I really would like to be in a bigger area. I could get my license to practice in California. I’m sure someone could use a lawyer. I’d pay rent, of course. Even if it’s temporary, it would help out a lot. Thank you.” The awe and sincerity in my best friend's face is one-hundred percent pure.
“You’ll learn, I’ll do anything for Sophie, and that extends to her family and friends.” I know Elijah means this. He has a heart of gold. “What type of law do you practice?” he asks Carter.
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