Mine To Have (Southern Wedding 1)

"Thank you," she says, walking past me. "Welcome to my oasis," she says and I look around at the big wooden deck that is covered with a round table with six chairs. "Let’s sit over there." She points at another level of her deck where there is a couch area that is also covered. I walk down the step and look around at the trees that are surrounding her.

A hammock in the corner of the yard sways back and forth. "This is relaxing," I say, looking around, seeing her slip her legs under her on the couch as she sits.

I sit down on the couch facing her, even though I want to sit next to her and touch her. "This is paradise," I say, putting my ankle on top of my knee and leaning back in the couch. My arm opens to drape across the back of the chair. "Do you spend a lot of time out here?"

She shakes her head, taking a sip of her wine. "Sadly, not as much as I want to."

I sit back and watch her. Fuck, I could watch her for hours, days, weeks, months, years. Fuck, I want to watch her forever. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

I shrug and take a sip of my wine. "You’re beautiful," I say as the sun slowly starts to set on one side. The sky is turning a soft pink. "It’s going to be a nice day tomorrow?"

"It’s supposed to be nice all weekend long." She stares back at me and I smile, bringing the glass to my lips. "I’m going to go and check on dinner." She gets up and finishes the rest of her wine. "I’ll be right back."

"I’m not going anywhere," I say, and she looks down and walks back into her house. "Not anytime soon."

Chapter 18

Harlow

"It’s supposed to be nice all weekend long." I stare at him wondering what the fuck he is thinking. "I’m going to go and check on dinner." The nerves are going to take over my whole body and I need to step away from him for a second. I grab my wineglass and finish the rest of it. "I’ll be right back."

"I’m not going anywhere." His statement sends shivers down my spine and I avoid his eyes. Walking back into the house, the cold air hits me right away. I close the door behind me and I can’t help when my body collapses with my back against it. Ever since he walked out of my office this afternoon, I’ve gone over everything in my head. Why the hell was he here? Why after all this time, was he here? One night with him has sent my life into an upheaval.

Pushing myself from the door, I walk over to the oven and open it to see the potpie a golden brown. "It’s smells delish," I say, walking over to grab two plates. I grab a big tray and arrange everything on it. After I add the utensils, I walk over to the fridge and take out the premade salad that I bought myself at lunch thinking that I was going to have a nice relaxing evening at home, instead of this. "What the hell is going on?" I mumble when I look outside and see Travis standing up, looking around. "Why the fuck is he even here?" Putting on the oven mitts I take the potpie out of the oven and place it on the tray. Taking off the mitts, I place them on the counter and take another look outside, seeing the sun setting right behind him. My stomach flutters when I see his silhouette facing away from me. He stands there with his hands in his pockets just looking off into the distance, and again I wonder what the hell was he thinking. "Get through dinner and maybe he will go back from where he came," I say, walking over to the door and opening it before going back and grabbing the tray.

He must sense me coming because he turns around and rushes to my side to grab the tray from me. "Why didn’t you call me?" he asks as he takes the tray from my hands.

"Well, because it’s just a tray of food and I could carry it," I huff out, walking toward the couch area to grab the wine and the bottle. When I walk back to the table area, he has the tray in the middle of the table and he’s setting the utensils on the place mats. The sun went down a lot faster than I thought it would and the little fairy lights that I have wrapping around the trees are starting to turn on. It gives it a whimsical glow. I’m not going to lie, but lying in the hammock with the lights on and listening to sounds of nature is relaxing.