Page 29 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

“What? Oh, no!” Laughing, she shook her head.

“That’s not what I meant! Everything we did and are hopefully starting again has been fantastic.

No, I was talking about the bed. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the one you have in your cabin.

I don’t think I’ve ever slept as well or ever experienced anything so comfortable in my life. ”

“I told you it was amazing.”

“You did. And now we’re stuck in my lumpy old bed, which is also smaller than yours.”

“I’d say we can easily get in the car and go to the cabin, but Axel’s still crashing with me while he does some repairs on the one he’s going to move into.”

“Sounds cozy,” she teased.

“Yeah, well…it’s not ideal, but he’s up in the loft. It’s not like we’re spooning together or anything.”

She laughed again. “Well, thank goodness, otherwise things could get super awkward when you go home tomorrow.”

Walker shifted so he could see her face. “Tomorrow, huh? You’re not planning on kicking me out?”

Smoothing her hand over his chest, she shook her head. “Not anytime soon. I thought we could order some takeout and enjoy a night in. That is, if you can stand this bed for an entire night.”

He caressed her cheek. “As long as I’m here with you, I don’t care how the mattress feels.”

It was sweet of him to say, but she didn’t fully believe him.

The clock on her nightstand showed it was almost six o’clock. Technically, they could call in their dinner order and make love again, or they could put dinner on hold for a while.

She casually mentioned those options to him to see if they were on the same page.

“Chinese food,” he said, slowly rolling her beneath him. “And I’d like to work up more of an appetite before we call it in. I’m not ready to get out of bed, and I also don’t enjoy being rushed. I believe I promised to cherish you and take my time this time around.”

She felt herself blush. “Well…I wasn’t going to hold you to that.”

“You might not, but I am.” This time when he kissed her, it was slow and tender.

Harlow felt herself practically melting into a puddle as she wrapped herself around him. He felt so good, kissed like a dream, and she had no idea how they ended up like this again, but she wasn’t about to question it right now.

They would definitely talk about it later, but she wasn’t going to think about it now.

Much.

And then she wasn’t thinking at all.

She was feeling.

Feather-light touches, soft kisses, warm breath, Walker’s stubbled jaw…it all felt so damn good. It was like she was floating on a gentle wave, and she was giving herself over to the sensations.

Over and over and over.

She wanted this feeling to last, for him to never stop touching her, kissing her, wanting her.

But more than anything, she secretly wished that Walker would love her.

And that was the most terrifying realization of all.

“I think they forgot the duck sauce.”

Harlow got up from the couch and stretched. “No worries. I have extra packets in the fridge. I’ll be right back.”

“I’m pouring the wine,” Walker called after her.

“Go for it!”

In the kitchen, she found the extra packets of sauce that she always had on hand, but took a minute to just be alone and allow herself to absorb everything that was happening.

And not just dinner.

She’d just spent hours tangled up in bed with Walker.

She was exhausted and satisfied in all the best possible ways—not that she was surprised.

They didn’t have any problems physically.

But now they were out of bed, somewhat dressed, and there were only so many things they could say about dumplings and moo shu pork.

At some point, they were going to have to talk and figure out where things were going from here.

These sexual get-togethers were great, but it wasn’t something she wanted to continue, especially if it meant when they weren’t having sex, they were ticked off and annoyed at each other.

“Did you find any?” he asked, strolling shirtless into the kitchen.

“Huh?”

Grinning, he walked over and kissed the tip of her nose before taking the packets from her hands. “The duck sauce.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry. My mind wandered for a minute.”

If anything, that seemed to please him as he took her hand and led her back out to the living room. “I didn’t want your food to get cold.”

“Thanks.”

They sat and filled their plates with food and got comfortable on the couch. It probably would have been easier to sit at her tiny kitchen table, but this was way more comfortable.

As predicted, they talked about the food until there was nothing left to say, and then Walker surprised her by asking about her family.

“Do they live nearby?”

Crap.

The simple thing to do was lie or just say no, but if they were going to seriously try to have a relationship, then she needed to be honest.

“They don’t,” she began slowly. And before he could ask where they were, she explained. “My dad is in prison and has no chance of parole.”

Walker’s eyes went a little wide, but he didn’t say anything.

“Yeah, so…um…he was convicted of first-degree murder ten years ago. Two counts. He beat two of his coworkers to death.”

“Holy shit, Harlow,” he said quietly. “I don’t even know what to say to that. I’m so sorry.”

“There isn’t much other than that to say,” she assured him.

“He wasn’t a good guy. Like ever. He was always picking fights with people, always angry.

He worked in a food processing plant—you know, like a factory sort of thing.

He didn’t get along with these two guys in particular and he planned how he was going to kill them. ”

She shuddered just thinking of how she found all of this out after he had been arrested.

Everyone in town knew about it, and she had been harassed for years afterwards.

Her mother used to say that they had nothing to be ashamed of; they weren’t the ones who committed the crime.

Easier said than done when you’re still in school and people are just constantly reminding you that your father’s a killer.

“That had to be very scary for you,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “I can’t even imagine how you must have felt.”

“It was awful,” she said, her voice oddly detached.

She no longer cried about it, no longer had any feelings about it.

Most of the time, she did everything not to think about the situation.

“We’re a small town and it wasn’t something that was kept quiet, so I’ve lived in that shadow for a long time.

No one talks about it anymore, but there were a lot of years when I wasn’t so lucky. ”

“Damn. And your mom?”

The mirthless laugh was her first response. “Um…she turned to alcohol after the whole thing and got a reputation for being the town drunk.”

“Jeez,” he said before muttering a curse. “How are you even still sane, Harlow? Or I guess I should ask why you’re still here in Harbortown. I would think you would have moved as far away as you could as soon as you turned eighteen.”

“That was the plan, but unfortunately, it also wasn’t an option.

I didn’t have the money to go anywhere and I was still trying to take care of my mom.

Charlene—my boss—she really took me under her wing and did what she could to look out for me.

She’s also one of the reasons people around here stopped looking at me as the daughter of two train wrecks and started seeing me for myself.

She gave me a chance and let me prove myself. ”

Putting his plate down on the coffee table, Walker reached over and did the same with hers before gently pulling her into his arms. Kissing her forehead, he held her close. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I’m sure it’s not something you enjoy talking about.”

“It’s not.” She burrowed closer. “But you’ll never have to worry about running into either of my parents. My father’s never getting out of prison, and my mom took off three years ago with the bass player of a Bon Jovi tribute band. I haven’t heard from her since she left.”

He didn’t comment; he simply held her for a little longer and it felt comforting.

It had been a long time since she’d felt comforted by anyone.

Her life was fairly solitary, except for her friends.

Her grandparents—her father’s parents—still lived in the area, but she rarely saw them.

After everything that went down with her dad, her mother had pulled her away from what she referred to as “the evil family.” After her mother took off, Harlow had gone to see them.

It was awkward, and they weren’t the warm and fuzzy type, but once a year or so, she’d reach out, hoping to try to rebuild their relationship.

Other than them, there was no other extended family around. Her parents had cut all relations with their families and so it left Harlow almost completely alone.

Until now.

Maybe.

She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she couldn’t help it.

Everything about this moment with Walker felt right and promising.

If only…

No! Don’t go there. Not yet.

Harlow allowed herself another minute of just being held in his muscular arms before she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Our dinner’s getting cold.”

“That’s what microwaves are for,” he murmured, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Mine’s not so great.” Pulling back gently, she smiled. “Thank you.”

He looked confused. “For what?”

“For just listening. I don’t like to talk about my family, and usually I don’t have to because everyone already knows the stories. It’s embarrassing and awful, and I hope you won’t judge me because of the things they did.”

His expression turned fierce even as his hand gently caressed her face. “Never. You are your own person, and I genuinely like the person you are, Harlow. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I couldn’t stay away.”

Relief washed over her. “Oh. Okay. Good.”

“I want to know more about you. Hell, I want to know everything. We have a lot working against us, and I almost dread bringing it up.” He paused, shifting slightly and seemed to be carefully considering his words.

“Here’s the thing, I don’t want you to judge me based on the things my grandparents did. ”

Now it was her turn to be confused. “I don’t…”

“The resort,” he clarified. “The business. I get that you’re passionate about keeping everything the same, but…

that was my grandparents’ way. I’m my own man, and my investors and I want to do things our way…

forge our own path and make the business something that’s truly ours.

My grandparents made something that was special and it resonated with thousands of people over the years.

I’m just asking for the chance to try things a different way and maybe resonate with a whole other group of people. ”

Wow. When he put it like that, it was almost impossible to argue with it.

After all, wouldn’t she hate it if someone kept her in the same box—the victim of awful parents?

Didn’t she appreciate being able to make a name for herself and for people to know her for her own accomplishments, rather than the things her infamous father and mother did?

When she met his gaze, she saw a wariness there, like he was expecting her to argue with him.

But she didn’t. She couldn’t.

“That seems fair,” she told him before leaning in and kissing him softly on the lips. “Now that we’ve settled that, let’s eat!”