Page 17 of The Summer for Us (Golden Falls #1)

WESLEY

It’d been a few days since dinner at my parents’ house, and I couldn’t get Juliette’s defeated expression out of my mind.

She hadn’t let it show as we wrapped up dinner and sat around the fire pit.

Maybe my words hadn’t impacted her much, but the way her expression fell when we were standing in the kitchen? It gutted me.

She was trying. And I wasn’t.

I knew keeping my distance from her was the right thing.

Especially with the way my body reacted to her standing so close to me.

Those big, green eyes looking up at me through dark lashes.

The way her plump, pink lips moved as she spoke.

When I got home that night and hopped in the shower, I was hard as a fucking rock thinking about her in that goddamn yellow sundress.

I couldn’t be friends with her, because we barely knew each other and she already had such an effect on me. All Juliette Campbell had to do was look at me and I was fucking tongue-tied.

I wasn’t the right man for a woman with so much fire, passion, and light, even as only a friend.

I let out a frustrated groan as I turned from my side onto my back, staring up at my bedroom ceiling, the room illuminated only by the moonlight. It was two in the morning, and I couldn’t fucking sleep. I brought my hands up to my face, rubbing my eyes. Fuck. What a mess.

This wasn’t the first night I’d replayed the interaction as I tried to fall asleep, which was why I had to do something about it soon.

It wasn’t unusual for me to overthink, especially at night, but I normally didn’t let it impact me so much the next day.

I was normally better at letting those thoughts go and moving on.

I untangled my legs from the sheets, setting my feet on the floor and getting up.

I adjusted my boxers as I walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water.

I set the glass down, leaning my arms against the counter.

As I looked out the window, my eyes drifted toward where the cabin was.

Trees obscured my view of it, but…my mind stayed on Juliette.

Was she able to sleep? Or was she tossing and turning, too?

I gulped down the glass of water, setting it in the sink and turning my back toward the window. Our various interactions replayed in my brain as I searched for a solution.

Maybe I was going about it all the wrong way because, like she said, she’d be around. She was forming fast friendships with the people in my life, and it was obvious I wasn’t good at avoiding her.

One thing was clear, though. It was impossible to forget or stop thinking about Juliette Campbell, no matter how hard I tried.