Page 12 of Wish You Were Mine (Kings of Eden Falls #3)

LUCY

“So, how many days are you and Nora staying here?” Owen asked, his voice low and warm as we settled into the silence that followed everyone else heading inside.

“We’re going back to Eden Falls on Sunday,” I said, adjusting my position slightly to face him better. The snow was still falling in lazy flakes around us, like something out of a movie, but with the hot water gently bubbling around us, I didn’t feel the cold.

“Nice,” he said. “You get to soak up the whole weekend.”

“What about you?” I asked. “Are you here the whole time, too?”

Because that would be…nice.

But he shook his head. “Just tonight. I’ll probably sleep in a little tomorrow, but I need to get back to Eden Falls for my shift at The Garden tomorrow night.”

“Your boss didn’t give you New Year’s Day off?” I asked, trying to mask my sudden disappointment. “Doesn’t he know you have cool people to hang out with?”

“He actually does…” He chuckled—a low, throaty sound th at made my stomach flutter. “Since I am said boss—a manager, anyway. I set the schedule, but because I got tonight off, I figured I should let someone else have tomorrow night off with their family.”

“That’s actually really considerate,” I said, liking that he seemed to care about his staff…but also kind of wishing he’d been a bit more selfish since it would have been fun to hang out with him tomorrow.

“Yeah. Though, if I’d known about all of the cool people Ky had invited here this weekend, I might have been inclined to be a little more selfish.” He winked.

I blinked, a little startled that he’d just said exactly what I’d been thinking seconds ago. And then my heart fluttered in my chest because…he was hinting that he wanted to hang out with me more, right?

“Next time we’ll have to ask Ky for his guest list,” I said. “But it sounds like you help run The Garden then?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I took on a lot of the responsibilities a couple years ago, when the owner had to step away for some family stuff.”

Okay. So, he wasn’t just hot and grounded, he was also responsible. The dangerous trifecta.

We lapsed into a brief silence, the kind that teetered between comfortable and uncertain.

I didn’t want him to get bored and head inside, so I searched for something—anything—to keep the conversation going.

Then I glanced at him and said, “Oh, hey, I never asked. Did the pineapple punch end up being the fun kind?”

“It was definitely the fun kind.” He grinned, amused.

“How many cups did you have?” I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he was drunker than he seemed and just better at hiding it than Josh had ever been.

“Just the one.” He leaned back, resting one arm along the ledge behind me. “Got a good buzz, but it’s gone now.” Then he asked, “And how did your mojito treat you?”

“It was perfect.” I smiled. “Just enough to warm me up and make me giggly, but it wore off during the games. Which was just what I wanted since I don’t like getting drunk”

“Me neither,” he said.

“So you’re more of the drug-dealing type than a druggie.”

His brows knitted together. “What now?”

And I realized that that comparison probably sounded really bad since he hadn’t been able to read my thoughts. So I rushed to say, “You know how people say you can either be a drug dealer or a druggie. But if you try mixing the two, you just end up really poor and high…”

“Yeah…”

“So since you’re a bartender, you’re just dealing alcohol instead of drugs.”

Okay…that definitely sounded better in my head.

“Right…” But he thankfully seemed to understand my nonsensical logic because he added, “I’m a responsible supplier of questionable decisions.”

“Exactly.” I smiled, liking the way he’d worded it since I wouldn’t mind making a few questionable decisions with him right now.

We fell into a brief silence as the snowfall thickened, swirling through the air like confetti from the sky. I lifted my arms from the warmth of the water to catch a few drifting flakes, but the sting of the cold made me laugh and draw back quickly and settle farther down into the warm water.

“Cold out there?” he asked, a glint of amusement sparking in his eyes.

“Freezing,” I said, rubbing my arms. “And I just realized, with Miles and Bash already inside, I’m now morally obligated to help you put the hot tub cover back on. ”

“Oof.” He winced. “Don’t remind me about that part.”

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna be regretting my decisions when I finally climb out.”

“Better just stay here all night then, right?” He glanced at me.

“A little longer, at least.”

We shared a quiet smile. Then he said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I said, my pulse jumping.

“When Nora asked if I’d give you my number at the bar...was that just her trying to make you feel uncomfortable? Or…was there some other reason behind it?”

My cheeks warmed despite the cold. “She might’ve been trying to help me out.”

A slow smile curved across his face, his eyes crinkling at the corners—and wow. He was unfairly attractive when he smiled like that. Honestly, there should be laws about looking that good in a hot tub.

Not that I was complaining. Having Owen’s full attention on me, even for just a few minutes, was definitely not something I minded.

“So,” he said, tilting his head, “is it fair to guess that the person you were thinking about kissing in the hot tub...was me?”

“You’re really putting me on the spot here, aren’t you?” I gave him a mock scowl.

He chuckled. “Just wanted to make sure I didn’t make an unwanted advance earlier.”

“No,” I said softly. “It was definitely not unwanted.”

“So…it was me?”

I hesitated, then bit my lip to keep from grinning too hard.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, his eyes gleaming. “And just so you know…you were the one I was thinking about, too. ”

“Good to know.” A soft laugh escaped me.

He leaned in, just a little, and the space between us grew even more electric. “You know,” he murmured, “you look really cute when you’re trying not to smile.”

I paused, letting the compliment settle in my chest. Then, after a beat, I tilted my head and took a chance, whispering, “And you’ve got a dangerously good jawline for someone trying to distract me.”

His smile softened, fading just enough to let something darker flicker through his expression as his eyes dropped to my mouth.

“Well,” he said, his voice lower now, “when you say things like that...it makes me think I might just have to kiss you again.”

My heart stuttered. But I tried to play it cool, even as heat bloomed up my neck.

“I think I might be okay with that,” I murmured, my voice feathering into the steam between us.

The grin that spread across his lips then was slow. Confident. Devastating.

He leaned in, brushing a strand of damp hair from my cheek before his fingers skimmed down, cradling my jaw. And when his lips met mine, it was soft—testing—like a secret passed between us. I exhaled against his mouth, chasing the kiss before it could slip away.

He deepened it instantly, the hand at my jaw tilting my face toward him as his other hand slid around my waist, pulling me closer. The water sloshed gently between us, but I barely noticed.

And man, the way he kissed… It was both exhilarating and grounding at the same time. Like he’d been waiting all night to do this, and he wasn’t in any hurry to stop.

I slid my hands up his shoulders and around his neck, anchoring myself as his lips coaxed mine open, his tongue brushing against mine with the kind of slow, confident ease that made my stomach drop—like the split-second free-fall before sticking a blind landing off the balance beam.

And when he tugged on my hips gently, guiding me closer, I let him. He shifted both of us until I was straddling his lap with my knees, water rippling around us. And wow, if it didn’t feel good to be that close to a man again… It had been ages.

My hands found his chest, solid and warm under the water, and as the kiss turned hotter—hungrier—I melted against him.

My hips tilted forward, instinctive and unintentional, and the quietest sound escaped the back of his throat.

Oops. Is that too close for someone you’ve only met twice?

But then his hands tightened at my waist, applying pressure to my lower back like he wanted to anchor me there.

And yeah…I didn’t want to move.

This was so wild—probably insane.

I barely knew him.

But it felt so good.

And honestly? One of my New Year’s resolutions had been to stop overthinking everything.

To live in the moment.

And there was no moment more alive than this—wrapped up in a sexy man’s muscular arms with the snow falling around us and his mouth doing wicked things to mine.

Just as I was leaning in for more, lightning cracked overhead, lighting up the sky like a strobe light.

We both froze, lips parting, breath mingling in the steam.

Owen’s eyes met mine, wide and a little dazed. Then he looked up at the sky. “We probably shouldn’t be in the water during a lightning storm, huh?”

I let out a reluctant sigh, breathless and flushed. “You’re probably right. ”

“Shame,” he murmured, eyes dropping to my mouth again. “We were just getting to the good part.”

“I know…” I whispered, his words fluttering through me like a spark before hitting low and hard, grounding me in heat and want.

Would it be too forward of me to suggest we continue this somewhere inside?

Because from the way he wasn’t making any move to climb out, I got the feeling that he might just be okay continuing the moment—possibly even risk staying out here a bit longer. But then lightning flared again, closer this time, thunder cracking in its wake.

We groaned in unison, our limbs untangling with slow reluctance. The second we climbed out, the icy air slapped against my wet skin like a punishment.

“Oh my gosh! ” I gasped, instantly shivering, my teeth chattering almost as fast as my heart was racing. “Putting the hot tub cover back on really is the ultimate mood killer.”

Owen laughed, that deep, sexy chuckle that made my knees weak, even as I hopped from foot to foot. “Just hurry,” he said, grabbing one end of the cover. “You’ve got muscles, we can do it fast.”

“Fine,” I grumbled with a dramatic eye roll but couldn’t help laughing, too, as I grabbed my end. We slammed the cover into place in record time, then dashed toward the door, slipping and squealing like kids as our wet feet hit the icy deck.

I grabbed my robe from the chair I’d left it on and followed him inside, both of us breathless and laughing.

As we stepped into the warmth of the house, he paused just inside the door, water dripping down his chest, eyes still locked on mine.

“This was fun,” he said, his smile softening in a way that made my heart flutter. “I hope I’ll see you again soon.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice just yet. “Me too.”