by Ivy Layne
We passed the first of the cottages by the river, built in the same stone and timber style as The Inn itself. I'd never stayed in one, being a townie and not having a massive bank account, but I'd heard they were gorgeous on the inside. And very, very expensive. Some of them were lit up already, guests home for the evening and enjoying their private sanctuaries.
The river burbled through the trees, the scent of water drifting into the garden, twining with the scents of flowers and other growing things. We passed the last cottage, which had its porch lights on but was otherwise dark. After that, there was a short gap and then what looked like a foundation, already poured. Beyond that foundation was another and yet another.
“Are you adding new cottages?”
Royal drew to a stop and turned so we faced the newly poured foundation. “We are. Tenn and I planned this out years ago but couldn't get Prentice to approve it. Griffen looked at our business plan and gave us the go-ahead. The Inn has high occupancy rates year-round, but the cottages are booked to capacity most of the time. We charge a premium, even more in the summer and fall, and people keep showing up. It seemed a waste not to use the land.”
I studied the new foundations dotted along the river and had no doubt these cottages, too, would be occupied year-round. It was peaceful here, the existing cottages rustically gorgeous. The perfect spot for a vacation in the mountains.
“How long until they're ready?”
“Maybe by late fall, early winter if we don't run into any trouble.”
“That's great, Royal. If they're anything like the others, it's going to look beautiful.”
“That's the plan,” he said and turned us back the way we'd come.
I wasn't ready when he took me to the porch of the nearest cottage and led me inside. Nerves thrilled through me as we walked through the main living area, past the wide-open doors to the bedroom, but Royal ignored the temptation of the big bed and brought me to the covered back porch overlooking the river.
“We've kept this cottage closed while we're under construction to give paying guests a buffer from the noise. I thought we could sit on the porch and drink some champagne.”
“That sounds perfect,” I said, a little dizzy from the romance of it. I sat on the wide porch swing facing the river and propped my feet up on the railing. Royal took the spot beside me and did the same, the heat of his body against mine easing the tightness I'd had in my chest since dinner.
Royal poured me half a glass of champagne. “Tell me why you were feeling sorry for yourself.”
I both regretted having said anything and wanted to tell him everything. I settled for something in the middle.
“My dad's home. It's good to see him, I guess, but he… Well, I told you about him. He's full of big stories, and smiles, and hugs, but he says he has business in town and he—”
I almost told Royal that my dad owed me money, but I couldn't do it. It wasn't just that Royal was wealthy and I wasn't comfortable pointing out how very much I wasn't. It was more that Royal saw me as a businesswoman. In a way, as a peer. I didn't want him to know how foolish I'd been and think less of me.
“It just got to me all of a sudden,” I went on. “The way my mom and Grams hang on every word he says and never question any of it.”
“I used to feel like that about my dad. He'd go on and on bragging about how he'd outsmarted everyone, when I knew being smart had nothing to do with it. He'd probably lied and cheated to get his way.”
I let out the breath I'd been holding. I'd been right, Royal did understand.
“I usually feel like I have my life under control,” I went on, “and then my dad shows up and it all starts slipping away. I feel guilty because I just want him to leave and let me go back to my peaceful, organized life. But he's my dad. I want to love him and I want to want him around, but I don't. Grams is so happy when he's here. I don't want to spoil it for her, so I just keep my mouth shut and go along.”
“I wish I could fix it for you,” Royal said, “but parents are the kind of problem you can't fix.”
“I guess you know that better than anyone,” I said and took a sip of champagne before leaning my head on his shoulder.
“I guess I do,” he agreed. “Here, try this.”
Royal stroked a dark chocolate truffle over my bottom lip, the bittersweet scent filling my nose. I bit in, my taste buds prickling as the potent ganache melted across my tongue. A low hum vibrated in the back of my throat, my brain lighting up with pleasure.
Champagne and chocolate definitely improved the end of my day, but not as much as Royal himself. I opened my eyes to see Royal studying me, absorbing every change of expression, every sound I made.
“Are you watching me eat again?” I asked, my voice husky with embarrassment but more from the look in his eyes as he watched me.
“I'm thinking about feeding you truffles naked. Does that count?”
My mouth dropped open. I'm not sure what I would have said if Royal hadn't popped the other half of the truffle into my mouth. His lips grazed my ear. “Do you want me to feed you chocolate naked? If it helps, I'd be naked too.” He sucked at the spot beneath my ear that always made me dizzy. Liquid heat flooded between my legs at the rhythmic pull of his lips on my skin.
“Naked is good. I want to see you naked,” I breathed, my head spinning. Reality intruded, my thoughts skipping to something other than lust. “My life is complicated right now.”
“So is mine,” Royal countered. “Life is always complicated if you do it right.” His lips skimmed down the side of my neck. “That's part of what I like about you.”
“That I'm complicated?” All the blood in my body was somewhere other than my brain. I wasn't getting it.
“I always thought complicated was too much work. But not with you. Complicated is worth it with you.”
“What if I'm too complicated?” I asked, not sure why.
Royal moved his mouth from my neck, kissing my jaw before he sat up and topped off the champagne I'd barely sipped.
“I don't know, so far, you haven't scared me off, no matter how hard you've tried. And I'm not exactly simple. There's my family, for one thing. Complicated doesn't even cover them. And there's your boyfriend.”
For a second, I had no idea who he was talking about. Oh, yeah. J.T. Wasn't it time to come clean about that? I couldn't tell him the whole story. That wasn't mine to share. But I could tell him the truth that was mine.
“I don't have a boyfriend,” I admitted, waiting for him to pounce on the words with some version of 'I told you so' or 'I knew it.'
“Since when?” he asked, sounding curious rather than vindicated.
“Since a long time.” I took a sip of the champagne, the tart sparkle washing away some of the chocolate. Spotting the box of truffles beside Royal, I took one out and lifted it to his mouth, watching with rapt attention as his eyes lowered when he bit in, his thick lashes dark fans across his tanned cheeks.
“I think I just got used to saying J.T. was my boyfriend. People assumed, and we let them because it was easier and neither of us was looking for someone else.”
Royal swallowed, and when his eyes opened, they fixed on mine. “Did you sleep with him?”
“Actually sleeping? All the time. Sex? No.”
“Never?”
It wasn't really his business—it's not like I was going to grill him on his sexual history—but I understood. Where J.T. was concerned, it was his business. A platonic friend I loved deeply was one thing. A friend I loved deeply who I'd also had sex with was a totally different thing.
“Never. We kissed once when we were in middle school and it wasn't worth repeating.” I set my champagne on the railing and turned to face Royal, knowing it was essential that he understand if we were going to move forward. “I love J.T. He's more family to me than most of my actual family, and I'm the same to him. I
'd do anything for him. Anything. But we don't love each other like that, and we never have.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? Just like that?” I don't know what I expected. An argument? An ultimatum? Anything but this easy acceptance.
“Just like that. You haven't given me any reason not to trust you. And I understand friendship. I'm looking forward to getting to know him.”
“He can't wait to meet you,” I said. “He was almost as excited by the flowers you sent as I was. He would have dressed me up and delivered me to The Inn on the spot if I'd let him.”
“Now I really can't wait to meet him,” Royal said, sending me another of his blinding smiles. “I need someone on my side.”
“Hey!” I swatted the back of my hand at his chest before picking up my champagne and taking another sip. “I'm on your side.”
“Are you?”
It could have been a playful, teasing question. It would have been simpler if it had been. Royal's eyes were deadly serious, and I knew my answer was important. This was more than flirting.
For all the running away I'd done, Royal needed me to stop. I didn't know why, I just knew that it was time.
Chapter Twenty
Daisy
I haven't dated in a long time,” I admitted. “Over two years. I don't trust my own judgement with men, and you're exactly the kind of guy I've always avoided.”
“Why? What is it about me that scares you off?”
The hint of vulnerability in his eyes cracked the shell around my heart. I couldn't be the one who made him feel less. I wouldn't. Reaching out, I wrapped my fingers around the back of his neck and leaned in to press my lips to his.
“Nothing,” I said, withdrawing just enough to meet his gaze. “There's nothing about you that scares me off. Not really. It's me. I like everything about you, Royal. That's what scares me.”
I sat back and put my empty champagne glass on the railing. Royal waited, his guard still up. If he needed more, I'd give it to him with the blunt honesty he seemed to bring out in me.
“Grams always talked about the Hutchins women having bad luck with men. Not just her with my grandfather, who took off long before dad was born, but her mother and her grandmother, too. They all had stories of charming men and broken hearts. And watching my mom and dad together made me cautious about falling for someone. My mom may be a Hutchins by marriage, but she fits right in. She’s so blinded by my dad she buys all the bullshit he hands her and asks for more.
"I can't stand the idea of losing myself like that. I dated some, had a boyfriend for a while a few years ago, but he moved away for a job, and when I didn't miss him, I started thinking I was better off on my own. J.T. had his own reasons he wasn't interested in dating, so we made do with each other.”
“Without sex? I can see how being with J.T. would be almost the same as having a boyfriend, but didn't you miss sex?”
The laugh escaped before I could stop it. “If you'd known my last boyfriend you'd get why I thought I could do without.”
Royal raised an eyebrow, possibly seeing a challenge in my words. “That bad?”
“I figured it was me. No one before him was any better. I thought I was just bad at it.” I looked at Royal through my lashes, flirting and shielding myself at the same time. My heart sped with nerves. “After you kissed me, I realized it might not be me after all.”
I swear Royal's grin made my panties wet. Wetter. Yep, there was nothing wrong with the way I responded to Royal. Nothing at all.
“That good, huh?” he said, that sexy grin just a little bit smug.
“You know it was. So good it got me thinking.”
“About what, exactly?” Royal probed, his guard slowly melting away.
“That maybe it's time to take a risk.” In case it wasn't clear, I added, “With you.”
That was all I needed to say. Royal hauled me onto his lap, satisfaction and anticipation glowing in his eyes. “Took you long enough.”
“Hey, I had stuff to work through.”
Royal brushed my hair back from my face, cupping my cheek in his hand. “I'll try to make sure I'm worth the effort.”
I closed the distance between us, putting my mouth to his ear. “I already know you are.”
I could spend the rest of my life kissing this man.
That was the last coherent thought I had.
Royal turned on the long swing, taking me with him, and propped his back against the padded arm, me on top of him. Our legs tangled, his mouth took mine, our kiss tasting of chocolate and champagne.
Royal's hand slipped under the hem of my shirt, fingertips stroking my skin. I wanted skin. I wanted to touch. I wanted to feel him all over, to satisfy the ache between my legs. The hard bar of his erection pressed between us.
I wanted to slide my hand there, to stroke and squeeze, but the narrow porch swing didn't leave me enough room. Royal’s hips rolled into mine, his hardness trapped against my heat, my breath coming in pants.
My body was liquid, my lips moving on his out of instinct, my brain shut off in favor of sensation. His hard hands on my hips, his soft lips, the way his mouth owned mine. I needed more, my long-ignored sex drive coming back to life with a vengeance. I didn't just want sex. I wanted Royal. My hips rolled into his, knees spreading wider, his hard length pressing exactly where I needed it.
Abruptly, Royal pulled his mouth from mine and tipped his head back, staring at the ceiling of the porch, his own breath short and fast. “We have to stop,” he muttered, blinking rapidly as if he found his words as crazy as I did.
“Stop?” I repeated, dazed.
“I didn't bring you here for this, Daisy.” His hand stroked down my back, resettling my shirt before he corrected, “Well, I brought you here partly for this. But not for more. Not yet. Not here.”
I could barely believe it when I reminded him, “There's a bed inside.”
Royal's laugh was rough-edged. “Don't remind me. I want to get my hands all over you, believe me. Just not yet.”
“We don't need to wait,” I offered, not sure I understood.
Royal nuzzled that spot beneath my ear, sending a bolt of lust all the way to my toes. “Yes, we do. I do. I need to wait. When I get you naked, I want time and privacy. And I want you to know that it means something.”
“You don't have to prove anything to me, Royal,” I said, surprising myself. I would have thought that's exactly what I'd want. I guess it was—before. After seeing that hint of uncertainty in his eyes, I knew he wasn't playing me.
Royal brushed a hand over my hair, his eyes soft. “It's not about proving something to you. You're important, Daisy. I know we're just getting started, but you're not a fling. I don't want to rush.”
I didn't know what to say. A joke sprang to my lips about pretending we were a fling or using him for sex. I kept my mouth shut. This wasn't the time. Digging deep for courage, I told him the truth. “You're important, too, Royal. I wouldn't be ready for more if you weren't. But I can wait until you're ready, too.”
Royal's chest rumbled in a laugh. “I must be nuts. But I still want to wait.”
I only hummed in my throat in response.
We stayed where we were, stretched out on the swing. Royal dropped a foot to the porch and nudged, sending us swaying gently back and forth. In the trees on the other side of the railing a firefly lit, then another.
I rested my head on Royal's chest, listening to the thump of his heart in one ear and the babble of the river in the other as he stroked his hand up and down my spine. With each pass of his hand, I melted into him a little more.
This was heaven. Right here, cradled against Royal, the warm evening shrouding us in calm quiet. I didn't stir until I felt my eyes drooping shut.
Into the dark, Royal said, “I have to get you home before we fall asleep here and we're too stiff to wa
lk tomorrow.”
“I'd love to call you an old man for saying that, but I fell asleep on my couch the other day and my back was killing me when I woke up. I've reached the age where I have to sleep in a bed.”
“No camping for you?” Royal rubbed the backs of his fingers against my cheek.
“Camping is an exception. I haven't been in forever, but I'll sleep on the ground if I'm in a tent.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
Royal insisted on driving me home. He pulled into the parking spot behind the bakery and got out, my hand in his as he walked me upstairs to my door.
“I'd like you to come to dinner at Heartstone on Sunday,” he said simply.
“You're inviting me to a family dinner?”
Royal grinned at me. “I need a shield. Ophelia and Bryce are moving into the Manor—thank God—and it's going to be a circus. Can you brave it? For me?”
Despite the frisson of nerves in my gut, I grinned back at him. “I'll protect you. What time should I be there?”
“I'll pick you up at six.”
“I'll be ready.”
One more sweet, slow kiss and he was gone.
I was exhausted but too wired to sleep. I had to get to bed so I could be up well before dawn. I'd pulled in two last-minute custom cake orders that I'd have to fit in before everything else I had on the schedule.
I straightened my kitchen, put away the dishes I'd left drying on the rack, and turned out the light, hoping that laying down would prompt my brain to stop thinking and fall asleep.
Ten minutes staring at the shadows on my ceiling told me that wasn't going to happen. I wanted to be back on the porch swing, the river in one ear and Royal's heartbeat in the other. I could have stayed there all night.
Missing Royal was enough to propel me out of bed. Not bothering to turn on the lights, the faint moonlight enough to illuminate my small kitchen, I set up the electric kettle and got out the herbal tea Grams had pushed on me the day before, swearing it put her out like a light every night.