Page 32 of Tides Of Your Love (Riviera Shores #3)
Rio
WE WERE HEADING FOR the door—Owen, looking somewhat pale, led the way, Walter close behind him, and me balancing a leftovers box in one hand while holding Emma’s small palm in the other.
Goodbyes overlapped, voices rising and blending together—Nicole calling for Emma, Chloe chatting with Walter, my mom insisting we take more food. A typical, lively, Maddigan family send-off.
Just as Nicole took Emma’s hand from mine, their voices mixing with Owen’s and Walter’s, I felt a tug at my wrist.
Simon.
He pulled me back just slightly, just enough so that no one else would notice. His voice was low but firm, cutting through the noise as he leaned in. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
The look in his eyes made his intention crystal clear.
My heart skipped a beat.
I didn’t get the chance to respond as we were practically at the door with everyone else .
No, Simon, I have no idea what I’m doing—except that I knew what I was getting into and still went for it.
By the time we reached the car, Owen helped Walter into the passenger seat, and I slid into the back. Owen’s hands flexed on the wheel before he started the engine.
We didn’t speak. But in the rearview mirror, our eyes met, and I knew—Simon had spoken to him, too.
After Walter was in his room, getting ready for bed, Owen and I walked upstairs in silence. The words neither of us had said hung between us, heavy, waiting.
At the top of the stairs, he turned toward me. His hand found my waist, and he pulled me in, his lips already on mine.
It wasn’t a kiss that promised to ruin me against the nearest wall. It wasn’t the kind that blurred thoughts and burned reason. It was quieter. The kissing equivalent of his secret smile, the one only I ever got to see. A kiss that said, I know.
When we pulled back, I ran my hands over the sharp lines of his jaw, my thumbs brushing against the beginning of stubble there.
“So, Simon talked to you?” I asked.
Owen exhaled, his forehead touching mine. He didn’t deny it.
“He figured it out, and he’s not happy about it,” I said, keeping my voice even, though my heart was anything but. “I don’t need him to okay anything for me. I appreciate his concern, but I went for this because I wanted to. I knew what this was from the get-go. ”
I knew this came with a time stamp, whether we acknowledged it or not. I knew commitment had never been part of it. And I wasn’t about to ask for it. Not when the thing he loved most was still out there, waiting.
Owen’s fingers tightened on my waist. “You did? Because I didn’t. I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you.”
My chest clenched, the words spreading through me like a slow-rising tide.
“Ditto,” I whispered. I couldn’t say more. Not yet.
It felt like we were both on the edge of something neither of us was ready to name—too much baggage came with it. And I wouldn’t let anyone else name it for me.
Instead, I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward my room.
Because I wanted to take whatever I could of this while I still had it. And right now, I needed to feel him, taste him, all of him.