“How many times did your parents come to the area when you were little?” she asked.
“Oh man, a solid five years in a row that I can remember.”
“I wonder if we ever saw each other?”
I looked at her, loving the way her eyes sparkled at the idea that we might have crossed paths before.
“There was this one time we came to visit and it was the Fourth of July,” I said. “There was a parade, and I remember sitting on my father’s shoulders and watching all the cars go by.”
Greer jumped in her seat and faced me, or at least tried to anyway. The seat belt only let her get so far. “I used to be in that parade! Every year!”
“What?” I asked with a disbelieving chuckle. “Doing what?”
“Well, it started off with my brother and me riding on the trailer for Boggy Creek Valley Orchard. I was good friends with Aiden O’Hara, who was best friends with Hunter Turner, whose family owns the orchard. So I got to ride on the float with them and a few of our other friends and Hunter’s sister, Willa. Willa and I have actually become closer in the last year.”
A wide smile grew across her face as the memory came back to her. “Man, that was so much fun. Then, there was the time I won a writing contest and got to ride on the library’s float, which again was on the back of a trailer. I was in the middle of it, sitting up on a chair that I’m surprised didn’t fall over. I just remembered it swayed a lot.”
I laughed and turned down the drive that led to the cabin. Once I’d parked, I grabbed our hiking bags while Greer got her dress and bag.
Inside the cabin, I placed the backpacks on the floor and looked over at Greer who was examining the place as if seeing it for the first time.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
She looked my way and gave me a sweet smile. “Yeah, um, of course. It’s all good. Do you mind if I take a quick shower?”
“No, I was going to take one too.”
“Oh…oh…um…okay. Maybe you should take one first, then I will.”
I lifted a brow. “You want to sneak a peek at my manuscript, don’t you?”
Greer’s eyes widened in horror. “What? Oh my gosh…no! I would never ever do that, Hudson. I respect your privacy.”
Laughing, I walked over and kissed her on the forehead. “It’s okay, Greer. I was kidding. I’ll go jump in the shower really quickly and then you can go.”
Her eyes lifted and met mine, and an intense crackle of energy filled the air. I wanted to kiss her again, but I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to, and that was starting to bug the hell out of me. Granted, I hadn’t mentioned the kiss from earlier either, but I certainly wanted a repeat.
Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, I smiled and took a step back. “I won’t be long.”
She nodded and whispered her reply. “Okay.”
As I headed up the steps, Greer called out, “I’ll just be down here. Waiting. I mean, don’t rush. I’m not in a rush. I’ll just be sitting here. Not rushing you or anything. Like that. Just…waiting.”
I came back down the stairs and looked at her. “Are you okay?” I asked with a laugh.
She stood there wringing her hands while she stared at me. “Fine. I’m fine. Good. I’m so good.” Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head. “I don’t know why I said so good.”
“So you’re not okay?” I asked, confused.
“No, yes! Wait.” She drew in a deep breath. “I’m fine, nothing’s wrong.”
“Are you nervous, Greer? If it was the kiss, I didn’t—”
She quickly held up her hand. “Please don’t say you didn’t mean to kiss me.”
I frowned. “I wasn’t going to say that. I did want to kiss you. I do still. Want to kiss you.”
Her tongue quickly swept over her lips and I fought to keep a moan down. “In the shower?” she asked.
That made my brows shoot up.
Greer buried her hands in her face and groaned as she dropped down onto the sofa. “Jesus tap dancing Christ, I didn’t mean to say that. What is wrong with me? I meant to say, you should go shower.”
Laughing, I walked over and squatted down before her, reaching up and pulling her hands away from her face. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment.
“Greer,” I whispered softly, running my thumb over her bottom lip.
She stared into my eyes, and my name slipped from her lips, sounding more like a plea than anything else. “Hudson.”
My heart pounded against my rib cage, and I cupped her face in my hands and brought my mouth to hers. In one fluid motion, I turned her body and eased her down onto the sofa, trying to keep most of my weight off of her.