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So hard I stumbled over my pants still down around my fucking ankles. I was airborne only long enough to take in a gasping breath before my back slammed into the still water of the pool.
Tangled up in my pants, I ripped them and my boxers off as I stood. Water dripped down my hair into my face. The salt stung my eyes. Her widened gaze met mine.
She clasped a hand over her mouth.
“What the hell, Hazel?” I grumbled.
She opened her mouth and shut it. Not a word escaped.
Fully expecting her swift apology I was struck mute when she stomped her foot and narrowed her eyes. “You deserved it. I’m not letting you push me away. So while you cool off, I’ll be in the bedroom watching Christmas movies. Don’t bother coming inside until you’re ready to grovel and apologize for your ridiculously selfish behavior masked as altruism. It’s not me you’re saving by telling me to go and you know it.” She turned and left me standing there, soaking wet, having no idea how I let her get the drop on me.
Fuck me sideways.
I pulled myself out of the pool and found a set of towels nearby. My shirt hung off me, completely useless and likely ruined. They ended up in a ball on a nearby lounger next to the pants and underwear I had flung. I had to give it to Hazel, no one surprised me. Ever. Except her.
Completely naked, I walked through the living room deciding to use the shower attached to the second bedroom. Maybe the time apart would give Hazel the chance to change her mind and me a chance to think about my next steps.
A faint muffled sound filtered out through the closed door of the bedroom. When it came again, I stopped to listen. As the wails rose in intensity, my stomach clenched so hard it hurt.
Was Hazel crying?
It didn’t matter how angry she was or how determined I’d been to walk away. Her tears stabbed at my chest. I’d created this mess and I needed to fix it.
She was one-hundred percent right in what she said. I’d been protecting myself, not just her. I was an idiot to think I could keep her at a distance. That I could push her away and deny what was between us. Especially not after hearing the sobs that were not just getting louder, but more desperate.
I opened the door. As it quietly swung inward, my gaze gravitated to the shaking lump under the covers. “Sunshine.”
“Go away.” I ignored her muffled retort.
I moved toward her and sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress sunk beneath my weight, and her body shook as she took jagged inhales. Each shuddery breath was a reminder to treat her far better than I had. “Babe, come here.”
The jagged inhales turned into a choking sob, her body shaking more beneath the mound of blankets. I was an asshole.
How had I ever thought I could leave her?
The mound of blankets shook back and forth. Well, that didn’t work.
I gripped the blanket tight and yanked it away from her. Even with her burrowing deeper the top of her head appeared. “I’m sorry I made you cry.”
She swiped at the river of tears flooding down her cheeks. With a loud sniff, she turned away from me the second the blanket reached her waist. Instead of forcing her to face me, I laid down behind her and drew her to my chest.
“I want to stay mad at you,” she said, her tight raspy voice, a knife to my heart.
“I deserve it.” She shuddered in my arms, the rigid tension lessening as her muscles released one by one.
“You do.” Her head settled in the perfect spot on my chest. A spot that seemed to be made just for her. “Which is why I hate that you did that.” She pointed to the corner of the room. Her sobs once again wracked her body.
My gaze immediately went to where she pointed and groaned. I’d asked the staff to find a tree and decorate it with white lights while we were gone. They even wrapped her presents and placed them beneath it.
I sighed.
“And it can be planted again once we leave.” Her body trembled with the force of her emotions.
“It can.”
“You remembered. How can I hate you when you do stupid, sweet things like that?” The top of her head nestled underneath my chin and the warmth of her body seeped into mine. She felt like home.
Since the quiet, stoic approach didn’t work, I tried the truth. “Sunshine, I don’t know how to do this without hurting you.”
