Page 15 of Hidden Harbor (Evergreen Rescue #1)

D rew bundled me into his truck. For once, I remembered my own jacket. A good thing, since the wind had picked up. Dinner had been more relaxed than I'd expected. Having Drew in the house and in our tiny kitchen should have made things uncomfortable, but it hadn’t.

Inviting him to join me for a walk had seemed like the friendly thing to do. Especially after he’d cooked us such a nice dinner. And maybe I didn’t want to just disappear into my room.

He’d spent weeks dancing around me. Avoiding me and Vi. And for what? So I could miss him. It made no sense. I made no sense.

And suddenly, I just didn’t care if there was any logic to it. Maybe it was reckless to want him. To even entertain starting a new relationship when my future was uncertain.

But part of me was dying to kiss him. Feel his scruff beneath my fingers, his soft beard scraping along my neck. Something about Drew had me longing for his touch. Even if he might see too much.

He played a rock station on the radio to fill the silence as we drove out to Lime Kiln, oblivious to the storm building inside me. The state park was the perfect place to watch the sunset. An easy trail led west, weaving through the madrona trees with their red bark and waxy green leaves.

Drew parked, and we strolled through the grass to the trailhead.

I huddled into my jacket, glad for its warmth.

Wind whipped off the sea, bringing the scent of seaweed and brine with it.

Drew kept one palm at my back as we picked our way along the dirt trail toward a small grove of madrona trees with a view of the lighthouse.

That one protective gesture only heightened my curiosity. My need.

Waves lapped against the rocks below, a gentle soundtrack for our trek. Sunlight glinted off the bark as we reached the cluster of trees sheltering the picnic tables, making the madrona look like they’d been set afire.

In the distance, Lime Kiln Lighthouse stood proud on the point, limned in orange as the sun sank behind the clouds and islands to the west. Seaweed floated in the cove, and an otter popped its head up before dipping back below the waves.

“Would you like to sit or walk to the lighthouse?” Drew asked.

Did he have any idea what his deep voice did to me? I shivered, fighting back the urge to touch.

“Let’s sit.”

The only break from the wind on the point was the lighthouse itself.

Here, we had a bit of cover from the hillside and the trees.

I sat with my back to the picnic table, breathing in the salty air.

Struggling for control. Drew’s thigh brushed mine as he settled next to me, and I shivered, even that brief contact more stimulation than I’d had in a long time.

Leaving everything behind, learning to exist in survival mode, had cost me more than I realized.

Trust had become a luxury, and with it, the small comforts I once took for granted.

The quiet solace of a hug. The steady reassurance of a hand grazing mine.

Those simple pleasures were stripped away when I walked away from my old life, leaving me starved for connection in ways I hadn’t dared to admit.

Was it Drew I longed for, or simply the warmth of human touch?

With an unintelligible grumble, Drew wrapped an arm around my shoulders, turning to shelter me from the wind with his body.

Him. Definitely, him.

“This okay?”

Heaven. Hell. Nothing so mild as okay , but I nodded.

Waves lapped against the shore, bringing me peace with their ceaseless rhythm. Inevitable and somehow soothing. Drew sighed next to me, the sound of burdens discarded. I snuggled into his shoulder in silent solidarity.

For the moment, I let it be enough.

Life’s problems seemed less cumbersome when you could stare at the sea.

Lose yourself. No matter how difficult our individual struggles, life went on.

We would too. There was peace that came from watching the sunset here that was unlike anywhere else on earth.

Fiery orange turned to purples and pinks as the sun sank beyond the horizon, leaving only the memory of its glow.

Leaning into his strength, I let the natural beauty around us and the shelter of his body soothe the frightened creature I’d become. Burrowing deeper, I sought out his warmth, buoyed by the firm muscle beneath my cheek.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” I murmured, unable to tear my gaze away from the last blush on the water.

Drew nuzzled at my temple, dropping a gentle kiss on my forehead. It was so soft, I could have imagined it. But the touch- starved part of my psyche clocked it like parched earth drinking in the first rain.

“Gorgeous.”

Instinct made me look up, catching his stare.

“You’re not looking at the sunset at all,” I chided, uncomfortable with the intensity in his gaze. The hint that I wasn’t alone in my inappropriate thoughts.

“Not when my friend is so fucking beautiful.”

The adoration in his expression brought my world to a standstill, driving out all coherent thought. My heart melted, flowing like wax through my veins, slowing everything until the moment crystalized. His dark eyes. Soft mouth. The urge to taste him overwhelmed me.

Done. I was done resisting.

I leaned forward, dragging my lips across his in the softest of kisses. It was a sweet exploration. Delicate. He kissed me back just as carefully, as if he couldn’t quite believe I’d started the exchange.

Slowly, our kiss deepened, his tongue licking at the seam of my lips, urging me to open for him.

I lost track of time, running my hands across his chest, savoring his warmth and the steady beat of his heart beneath my palms. He felt strong and real.

Like someone I could count on. A man made of iron, not clay.

He scooted me into his lap, dropping lingering kisses on my mouth and neck. Hitting the ticklish spot behind my ear. Awash in sensation, it was easy to forget where we were. Who we were.

His body was hard beneath me. I tilted, rocking against him, yearning for more.

Any sense of self-preservation had fled at the first touch of his lips to mine.

“Park’s closing, folks. Time to move it along.”

The words invaded my consciousness slowly, still too drugged from Drew’s kisses to comprehend language. Drew broke away, running soothing hands down my sides as if I were a horse he needed to gentle.

Cold air drifted between us, snapping me out of my Drew-induced haze.

“Yes, sir. We just need a moment.”

Drew’s voice was raspy, making me feel better about the fact that he managed to speak when I was still breathless. His mouth turned up on one side, his eyes mischievous as he took in my red face and labored breathing.

“Well, friend, as soon as I can walk, we can hike to the truck.”

I was the one who’d set the friends boundary, then broken it almost as swiftly. But I had help.

I bit my lip. We were heading to the house we were temporarily sharing.

Would he pressure me for more? That didn’t seem like Drew.

Drawing another boundary I couldn’t keep would make me a hypocrite, but I didn’t have the capacity for a real relationship right now, even if our make-out session provided ample evidence to the contrary.

Drew clasped my hand, leading me toward the lighthouse and the path to the parking lot. Where earlier, the waves had soothed me, providing solace, now they mocked my lack of self-control. They rushed the shore, just like I’d rushed into Drew’s arms.

Hello, mixed messages.

Drew sketched a jaunty salute to the park ranger as we walked past. “Bob.”

Inside, I cringed. Of course Drew knew every ranger on the island. I could only hope for the older man’s discretion. If I thought the group chat had been bad after our coffee date, it was going to blow up over getting caught kissing.

Drew ushered me up into his truck, shutting the door gently behind me.

We were halfway back to town before I worked up the courage to speak. “I want to clear the air.”

“What about, darlin’?”

“I think I’ve given you the wrong idea about me.”

“And what’s that?” he asked, glancing over.

He seemed utterly calm. Like nothing major had happened at the park. Could he compartmentalize that well?

“I’m not in a great place to start a relationship. But I also really wanted to kiss you.”

He grinned at me. “It’s like we’re twins.”

I groaned. “Drew…I don’t want to lead you on.”

“There’s something you need to know about me, Anya.

” He paused, as if choosing his words carefully.

“You know the story of the tortoise and the hare? I’m the tortoise.

I don’t move fast, and I’ve got all the time in the world.

If this is your idea of the friend zone, then I’m content to hang out for a while. ”

He grinned good-naturedly. “After all, it took me more than thirty years to move out of my parents’ house.

A year to ask you out. Left to my own devices, it’d take me a few weeks to round first base.

” He shrugged. “We’ll go at your pace. After all, studies show that couples who are friends for at least a year first have the most satisfying sex lives. ”

“What study?”

“The one I just made up.” He added a grin that dared me to scold him.

“So, we’re just friends,” I said, as if hearing it aloud would help convince me.

“You’re my beautiful friend who can kiss me whenever she feels like it. We don’t really need labels, do we?”

He was leaving everything in my control.

It should have left me heady with power, but my gut swirled with uncertainty.

Part of me wanted him to demand more from me.

He was letting me off the hook too easily.

If he’d come on strong, demanding more than I wanted to give, it would have been easy to push him away again.

But his refusal to play out the script I’d chosen left me at a loss.

He’d given me a no-strings way to test things out.

But did that mean the lack of strings went both ways?

A flash of possessiveness washed through me.

“Do you have similar situationships around the island?”

“Nope.” He said it easily, and I believed him.

“Why me?” I asked.

“Because I like being around you. Touching you. I don’t need more until you’re ready to give it.”

“You must be the most patient man alive.”

He chuckled, the sound raw. “Honey, only when it comes to you.”

If he wasn’t the most patient man, he might be the smartest. He was giving me what I said I wanted: the space to move at my pace.

He locked his truck and ushered me inside the house. He stepped toward the couch, and I hovered in the entryway to the kitchen.

“Goodnight, friend.” I waited a beat too long, and he reached for the hem of his shirt, stripping it off over his head in one smooth motion, revealing a broad chest. Tanned and firm. My fingers tingled with the urge to touch. He tilted his chin and winked at me. Busted.

“Goodnight, Drew.”

My voice sounded like gravel. His chuckle haunted me as I scurried toward the safety of my room.

It wasn’t until I plugged in my phone to charge that I saw the message.

My gut clenched, gripped by an invisible fist that threatened to crush.

Sweat bloomed across my body, drenching me in an instant.

My fingers shook, threatening to drop my phone as I stared down at the simple words, my mind spiraling, trapped in a never-ending loop of disbelief and panic.

Unknown Caller: How’s it going, Anne-Marie? Long time, no see.

He’d found me.