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“Any other woman I know would be running for the hills or pissed about what just happened and be demanding an explanation,” he replies as he releases me to turn on his truck and then back out of his parents’ driveway.
“Heather warned me this might happen,” I admit as he drives down his parents’ quiet street. Their neighborhood is beautiful. All the houses are a deep-red brick, but none are shaped exactly alike. There are full-grown trees everywhere that have changed with the season, and I imagine this would be a great place to grow up or to raise a family. Even the town is cute. It’s not very big, but it’s nestled within the Smoky Mountains and looks like something out of a picture book.
“What?” Tyler asks, pulling me back into the conversation.
“Heather said your mom didn’t want you to move and has been trying to convince you to come back to town since you left. She said she might play dirty.”
I bite the inside of my cheek when he growls, “And you still came with me?”
I defend myself. “You wanted me to come. How would you have felt if I bailed on you?”
“I’d be pissed.”
“Exactly.” I roll my eyes. “Plus, I know you love your mom, and so does Heather, so I convinced myself she couldn’t be that bad.”
“What are you thinking now that you’ve met her?” he asks, sounding somewhat sarcastic.
“I think she misses her son and is desperate to have him home,” I tell him, reaching over to rest my hand on top of his.
I watch him pull in a deep breath and let it out. “It’s not even about me,” he says, and I start to frown. “She didn’t want Heather to move to Montana after she met Marvin and he asked her to live with him there. She got over it somewhat when Heather and he got married, but when things between them started to go downhill after Heather had Kennedy, she hated that she wasn’t just a short drive away from her daughter.”
“That’s understandable,” I point out. My mom would probably act the same in the same circumstance.
“It is, but it isn’t. I moved because I found a better opportunity for myself, not because I found a woman. Yes, I met you right after I moved, but even if I hadn’t met you, I still would not be moving home. I like where I am. I like the town. I like the people. And now, with you there, I know it’s where I’m going to stay. My mom is going to have to get over it. We live less than six hours apart. I’m not in China.”
I smile. He’s right. The drive actually flew by a lot more quickly than I thought.
“Just give her time. Hopefully, she’ll see you’re happy and find a way to deal with how she feels about you being gone.”
“As optimistic as you are, I’m tempted to go to the store, get shit for Thanksgiving, and spend tomorrow locked away with you in the cabin.”
“As wonderful as that idea sounds, and it does sound really wonderful, I don’t think that would be wise,” I say as he pulls up in front of our home away from home for the time we’re here. “I saw her crying at the door before your dad forced her inside. She’s upset. She loves you. Maybe you got through to her.” He looks doubtful. “And maybe you didn’t.” I squeeze his hand. “But I’m not going to let her scare me off, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
“And if someone from my past shows up at their house tomorrow?” he asks worriedly, looking at me.
“I’ll thank them for not being able to keep you.” I smile. “Unless they come on to you or touch you. Then all bets are off, because you’re mine.”
He grins. “Possessive?”
“Yes.” I’m not even ashamed.
Before I know what’s happening, my seat belt is unhooked and he’s dragging me over the center console and onto his lap. “Are you mine, then?”
“You know I am,” I say breathlessly as he slides his hand up my outer thigh, under my shirt, and over my waist and then stops with his thumb curved under my lace-covered breast.
“I think I might need you to prove it.”
“How would you like me to do that?” I moan when his thumb slides up and across my nipple.
“I’ll explain the ways in detail as soon as I get you inside.”
“Are you going to kiss me before then?” I drop my eyes to his mouth, which is so close I can feel each and every one of his breaths.
“Hell yeah.” He smiles, but what he doesn’t do is kiss me.
I shift on his lap, feeling his erection under me, and my core tightens in anticipation. “Tyler, you really need to kiss me.”
