We stay that way for a long time. Stealing kisses and smiles, as the daylight turns to darkness and the moon shines brightly over us. “I almost forgot.” Zack reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

A beautiful antique heart locket. Zack opens it for me. “I thought maybe you could put a picture of your Mom on one side and you on the other, so you’re always next to each other.” He smiles.

“I’d love that. Thank you.”

There’s an inscription on the back, but it’s too dark and I can’t make out the words. “I can’t read it,” I say in a soft voice. “What does it say?”

Zack stares at me. I see his throat work to swallow before he speaks. “It says love needs no words. You had me before you even spoke.” He pauses, slipping the chain over my neck. “Now you have both my hearts.”

Tears stream down my cheeks. He wipes them away. “Can you please not cry.”

“But they’re good tears, not bad tears.”

“Still. It kills me to see any tears on your beautiful face.”

I smile. He lifts the locket from between my cleavage. “I like where it falls,” he grins devilishly while fingering the heart on the chain where it dangles.

“I have another present.”

“Another one?”

He reaches into his other pocket and pulls out something. “Happy Birthday.”

“Is that…?”

“Yes.” He smiles. “Oh my god. How did you know where to find it?”

“Ashley mentioned you sold a ring your Aunt gave you. So I made your Aunt go to every pawn store in the area to help me find it.”

My Aunt. I feel badly for disappearing on her, even though she kept so many secrets from me. “How is Aunt Claire?” I ask.

“Worried about you. She’s really pretty broken up over you finding out and her not being the one to tell you.”

“She could have told me herself.”

“I know.” He kisses me gently on the lips. “It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you and hasn’t been worried. She needs to explain it to you herself, but she was trying to protect you.”

The sunlight gone, a northeast wind blows strong at the top of the tower. The breeze makes me shiver. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’ll call Keller to come get us.”

“Keller?”

“Yeah. He decided I invited him on this road trip.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

We both laugh. As we turn to descend the narrow steps, Zack slips a folded piece of paper into my hand as he takes it. Today I don’t wait to read it until he leaves. I stop and open it smiling up at him. I missed you. Looking deep into his eyes, I tell him, “I missed you too.”

Chapter 44

Nikki

Zack wasn’t ready to turn around and drive the twenty hours back to California and we needed some time alone. So we decided to stay in Texas a few more nights. In the end, I spoke to Aunt Claire and decided to go back to California to live with her. Texas wasn’t my home anymore, no matter how hard I wanted it to be before Zack showed up.

So tomorrow we’re leaving. Oddly, Keller and Ash have hit it off pretty good. I never would have guessed the two of them would like each other. But there’s something more than friends brewing between them. We’re already planning on her coming out to California this summer.

That brings us to tonight. Zack rented rooms for Ashley and Keller so we can be alone finally. I’m more ready to be with him than I ever was and my heart swells with a heady combination of love and lust as he walks toward the bed from the bathroom. He’s wearing skin hugging grey boxer briefs and I can tell he’s just as ready.

“I like you in my t-shirt,” he says with a wicked grin, reaching for my locket. It’s become his new toy; he seems to need to touch it multiple times a day. He doesn’t even pretend it has anything to do with jewelry anymore. He trails his knuckles up and down my breasts, the locket dangling in the palm of his hand. “I like you out of my shirt even better.” He reaches for the hem of his t-shirt and lifts it up and over my head.

The room is still and I can hear his breath speed up when he sees me in my pink lacey bra and panties. We’ve fooled around before. A lot. We’ve even seen each other fully naked. But tonight is different and we both know it. Everything is about to change.

He stands at the edge of the bed looking at me, taking his time to graze his eyes up and down my body. The desire I see makes my body break out in goose-bumps. “Last chance to change your mind,” he says, searching my eyes. He wants to be sure I’m ready. I love that about him. Always putting my needs first.

I shake my head and crawl to him at the edge of the bed. He undresses me painstakingly slowly. I’m nervous but I know he likes when I take the lead sometimes, so I pull him to me, covering his mouth with mine, and we both get lost in a kiss that makes me glad I’m not standing. I slip down his underwear and he groans as my hand grazes his hardness.

He centers himself over me, our mouths entwined in a kiss that feels like it would physically hurt to disconnect. He reaches over to the end table and grabs a condom, disconnecting only briefly to put it on. Instinctively, I wrap my legs around him and he pulls his head back. He’s positioned perfectly over me but he stills.

He laces our fingers together and lifts our entwined hands over my head. “I know it will feel amazing to be inside you, but that’s just a bonus. I need to be inside you so we can be connected even more.”