Ten first dates, p.43
Ten First Dates, page 43
“My plans for the next two weeks entail nothing more than working on my tan, reading as many books as I can, and eating whatever the heck I want.”
He finally opens his eyes while one corner of his mouth lifts. “So, you’re saying you’ve already gone off course.”
“Maybe just a little, but I’m okay with that.”
He leans in and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “That’s good, because I certainly don’t want to be accused of messing up your carefully laid plans.”
I half laugh, half snort. “Is that sarcasm I hear in your voice, frat boy?”
“Maybe.”
“Rude!” I shove at his chest and roll away from him. “I was going to make you breakfast, but I changed my mind.”
He chuckles as he turns over to his back and rubs his eyes. “Fine by me. I planned on taking you to Tulah’s anyhow.”
My stomach growls instantly. No one makes omelets like Tulah’s, and after last night, that kind of cheesy, greasy sustenance would do me good. “You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet, don’t you?”
He grins and pats the spot on the bed I just vacated. “Come back and I’ll show you some of my other tricks, too.”
So, I do. And he does.
For two weeks, we spend just as much time in that bed as we do out of it. He takes me to breakfast at Tulah’s, for drinks at the pub, and even dinner with his parents a couple of times. I meet more of his friends and learn all his secrets, and I share just as many of mine with him, too. And not once do I think twice about it, because coming together with him like this has always felt inevitable. Like it was just a matter of time.
Time that, in the end, goes by way too quickly.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving already,” he says thirteen short days later as we stand in the driveway of my family’s cabin, my car packed to the roof once again “I’ve had fun.”
“Me, too.” Too much fun, actually. Too much everything, and that makes it hard to walk away. “I, uh, feel like I should thank you.”
“For?” His fingers brush against mine and we both hold on as if grasping for just a few more moments.
“For taking my mind off things.”
“Is that all?” He tugs me to him, and I go willingly, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my cheek to his chest. How is it possible that in such a short amount of time his arms already feel like the safest place I’ve ever been?
“And maybe for being so amazing.” I squeeze him tighter, wishing I could hold him close enough that he’d figure out that he’s been so much more for me from the very first night we met.
“Ah, you’re welcome, city girl, but honestly, this has been as good for me as it has been for you.” He kisses the top of my head. “And just because our time is up doesn’t mean you have to be a stranger. Call me. Text me. Come by for another visit...”
I nod, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to do any of those things without falling for him more than I already have. And that’s dangerous, because we live separate lives. We always have. They may not be all that different, but they’re different enough. And he made that very clear on my first night in town.
As much as I want to ask for more, I can’t. I can’t risk ruining what was so wonderful between us by changing the rules.
Pulling back, I grip his face in my hands and toe up for a kiss, knowing and hating that it’ll probably be our last. But instead of being sad about it, I decide to be grateful. For him finding me on the beach that first night, for being patient with me the summer after, and for being everything I needed now.
“I should get going,” I tell him, though saying the words hurts my heart.
“I know.” He kisses me again but doesn’t let go, and I almost—almost—let myself believe that maybe he wants more, too. But then he steps back, and the line is drawn.
Our time is up.
Our moments together are over.
And all that’s left to say is goodbye.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Two months later
“No.” I blink at my sister, refusing to believe that what I’m seeing is true.
“Yes, Hayden.” She holds up the wand, and the two pink lines seem to shine brighter than they did when I first looked at the test. “You’re pregnant.”
“Oh my god.” I drop down onto the side of the bathtub as my life flashes before my eyes. All my plans. All my hopes. All my dreams. They all change in an instant.
Or in this case, two weeks.
“This is one heck of way to reunite,” Hannah says, and I shake my head. Lane and I made amends three weeks ago, and things have been better than I could have hoped considering how much we’ve been through. It wasn’t easy forgiving him, but how could I put all the blame on him when part of me had been elsewhere, too? It took me coming home from Cole Creek to realize that, in a way, I’d been unfaithful, too. I hadn’t physically cheated, but part of me had wondered about the connection I’d had with Jesse, and that kept me from giving Lane what he needed, too.
So, I decided to give it another shot. I’ve worked too hard for the life I want to simply give it up, especially when I know I hadn’t really tried as hard as I could have.
“Lane and I haven’t had sex since we got back together,” I confess, and Hannah’s mouth drops open.
“Well, then who’s the father?” she asks, though we both know there’s only one other option.
When I left Jesse in Cole Creek two months ago, I thought our story was over.
Turns out that fate, once again, has other plans, and our story...
It’s just beginning.
THE (NOT SO) END
For more of Jesse and Hayden’s story, check out We’re Made of Moments, the first book in the Cole Creek series, available now on Amazon and in KindleUnlimited.
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ALSO BY MOLLY MCLAIN
COLE CREEK SERIES
We’re Made of Moments (Jesse & Hayden)
More Than a Memory (Aiden & Olivia – Just released!)
Measure of a Man (Jinx’s book) (Late 2022/early 2023)
The Mistakes We’ve Made (Amelia’s book) (Coming in 2023)
RIVER BEND SERIES
Can’t Shake You
Can’t Hold Back
Can’t Get Enough
Can’t Walk Away
A River Bend Wedding
Can’t Resist Him
Can’t Let Go
Can’t Forget Her
MASON CREEK SERIES
Perfect Secret
Perfect Chance
Perfect Scandal (Coming 9.15.22)
VELOCITY SERIES
Fly
Fight
STANDALONES
Bend
Rush
ABOUT MOLLY MCLAIN
Molly McLain lives in a tiny Wisconsin town with her husband, three kiddos, and two adorable German Shorthaired Pointers. She's addicted to 80's ballads, 90's rock, cheesecake, and office supplies, and she's been scribbling down love stories in spiral notebooks since she was old enough to daydream about hunky boys and happily-ever-afters. Now she turns those daydreams into steamy, small-town novels.
Anthology, Ten First Dates
