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Then, in an instant, I lean in and press my lips to hers. Because in spite of my brothers standing behind us, the magnetic pull between Callie and me is too strong to resist for a moment longer.
My hand finds the back of her neck, pulling her close, and deepening the kiss. Callie gasps softly, but then melts into me, her hands coming up to tangle in my hair. I gently cradle her face as I savor the sweet, cherry taste of her lips.
My heart is racing, and I’m sure she can feel it as I pull her closer, my hand resting possessively on her waist. The way she parts her lips for me sets my mind and body ablaze. It’s like everything else in the world fades away, leaving only this moment between us. It’s a brief, but passionate moment before I pull back, my forehead resting against hers.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, feeling my cheeks heat up. “I shouldn’t have done that without asking.”
“It’s okay,” she replies with a whisper, a small smile on her lips. “I wanted it, too.”
Relief floods through me, and I pull her close, hugging her tightly.
The tension is so thick, it takes everything I have to back up, the space feeling like a knife to the heart. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Wade.” She turns to head back inside, while I stand there like a doofus, watching her until she opens the back door.
“Bro, ya know she’s gonna be here when ya get back, right?” Hunter chimes from behind me. “You act like you ain’t gonna come home or somethin’. And mom’s plannin’ a huge family dinner tomorrow, so we better all make it home or she’ll whoop our butts.”
Sawyer laughs. “I get it, man. It wasn’t very long ago that I stared at Bailey with starry eyes just like that—I still do, sometimes. Ya know, we all really like Callie, and I also happen to like the person you are when you’re with her.”
“Yeah ... you’re ... normal.” Hunter bursts into laughter.
I roll my eyes at my brothers, falling in step with them as we head down to the barn to saddle up a few horses. “I swear y’all still act like you’re ten years old sometimes.”
“It’s Hunter,” Sawyer jokes. “He brings out the inner child in everyone he’s around.”
“Or parent,” I add with a laugh. “He makes me feel like the strict dad that no one likes.”
“Yeah, you just suck the fun right outta everything,” Hunter says, elbowing me in the side. “You’re all serious now, writing your lovey-dovey wifey songs. You gonna sing it at your wedding? Because that would be romantic as all get out.”
“It would be romantic,” Sawyer adds as we step into the barn, and saddle up three horses.
“Yeah, I suppose it would.” I visualize myself singing the song we were working on; Callie standing there in a beautiful white gown, her eyes right on me. My mouth grows dry at the thought.
Ugh. I’m so far gone for her.
And I’ve been debating every single day if I should just tell her how I’m feeling. I mean, I tried to tell her with that kiss in the cabin, but that didn’t really end well for us.
If I’m honest, I’ve never really shared my true feelings with a woman before. I’m not even sure I know how, mostly because women usually approach me. They fall hard and fast—though I’m not convinced it’s ever been anything more than lust. But the point is, I haven’t had to work too hard to keep a woman’s attention, and I’ve definitely never had to open up much about my feelings. I’ve also never been in love.
But ... what I feel with Callie ... feels like it could be love.
And it’s terrifying.
For the first time in my life, I’m getting to know a woman on a deeply emotional level. Our relationship is not rooted in the physical, it’s not based on lust. I’m falling in love with her heart—with her soul. With her voice, her passions, her kindness, her empathy. Callie Walker is everything that I’m not, but she’s everything I want to be.
She deserves the world, but I’m not sure that includes me. Especially considering I know everything she’s been through with her ex-husband.
“Can you invite whoever you want to your wedding?” Hunter asks, snapping me out of my thoughts as he swings up onto his horse. “Like your celebrity friends or whatever?”
“I mean, I can invite whoever I want.” I smirk, mounting up on my own horse. “It’s my wedding—isn’t that how it works, you pick who you want to show up to your wedding?”
Sawyer bursts into laughter. “Man, we missed you, Wade. You gotta come home more often.”
I smile a genuine smile, feeling something that was broken in my chest beginning to repair itself. “Yeah, maybe I do.”
Honestly, I’ve missed this too.
“So, can you invite George Strait to the wedding?” Hunter leans over and waves a hand at me as we head out of the barn. “Because I would like for my idol to be present. Layla would also freak out—I think she might love him more than me.”
