Page 101 of Chasing the Sun

Feeling brave wrapped in Cal’s arms, I snuggled closer. “If you didn’t run the Drifted Spirit, what would you do? Anything in the whole world.”

“Own a restaurant.” Cal didn’t even hesitate.

I propped myself onto an elbow and looked at him with wide, excited eyes. “Really? That’s so fun!” My brain was wired to make plans, find a way, and execute them flawlessly. “Well, why don’t you? I’m sure the guests you host would flock to something like that, especially if it was close. You could draw people in and also have a place for them to stay.” I sighed into him. “It would be dreamy.”

His stare lingered as realization dawned on me.Oh, shit. That was it.

Cal’s plan for the farm property was exactly what I described ... something that couldn’t happen if Star Harbor Farm was next door instead.

My cheeks flushed and guilt swarmed my brain. I swallowed hard, my eyes bouncing across his as I searched for the right words.

Cal’s hand reached up, and a soft smile touched his lips. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from my face. “Maybe in another version of some other life.”

Cal shifted, rolling on top of me and commandeering the conversation. “But right now, this is exactly the version of my life I want to be living.”

His body was warm as it pressed into me. Desire flooded my system, but I sighed, burrowing closer for just one more minute. “I think I should go.”

Cal grunted, wholly unimpressed with the idea. “You could stay.”

The offer sent a ridiculous little thrill through me, but I shook my head. “It’s late, and if I don’t go now, I won’t go at all.”

He made a deep, thoughtful sound, then smirked. “Is that a promise?”

I rolled my eyes and shoved at his chest, but he just caught my hand and brought it to his lips, brushing a slow kiss against my knuckles.

Warmth bloomed in my chest as I dragged myself out of bed, finding my scattered clothes across the room. I tugged on my jeans, my shirt, my socks, stuffing my feet into my boots and swearing under my breath when I nearly tipped over in the process.

Cal leaned against the headboard, watching me with anexpression that was way too satisfied for a man who had just wrecked me so completely.

I pointed at him. “Not a word.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t say a damn thing.”

I narrowed my eyes, but his grin only deepened as he pulled himself from the bed to get dressed.

Sneaking out of Callum Blackwood’s bedroom should have been easy.

He lived on the first floor, tucked away from the main part of the inn. There was no one else awake. No one to witness me tiptoe across the wood floors.

That was, until we opened the door and found Levi standing in the hallway with wide eyes and an equally guilty expression.

Levi had his own shoes in his hands like he had just taken them off—like he’d just been caught sneaking in at the exact moment we were sneaking out.

For a long, frozen moment, the three of us just stared at one another.

Realization dawned on the teenager as a red flush crept up his neck. “Oh, you’ve gotta be shitting me,” Levi muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face.

Cal’s brows lifted, and he crossed his arms over his very bare, very muscular chest. “Language.”

“Are you serious?” Levi snorted. “You’re gonna parentmeright now?”

Cal didn’t flinch. “Where were you?”

Levi exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Brody asked me to stay late. He needed an extra set of hands closing up the station. I was helping with paperwork and inventory. I forgot to text you.” He shrugged. “And, then, uh ... we went over some basic self-defense stuff. Brody’s been showing me a fewthings.”

Cal’s brows lifted slightly, his stance shifting just enough to show he wasn’t entirely unimpressed. “Is that so?”

Levi nodded, looking down at his sneakers, like he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “Yeah.”