4. Giana

CHAPTER 4

Giana

B efore I can even blink, Leo swoops me off my feet and holds me close while he spins me around. He releases a garbled woo-hoo ! I grip his shoulders tight and laugh. The single beer I drank is making me feel light and feathery. But the high of emotions pouring through me is the result of pure happiness, not drug-induced.

After working double shifts at the diner, saving, and skimping, I can hardly believe it’s finally going to happen. I hadn’t given the idea of sharing the cabin with someone else much thought. Having a place of my own has always appealed to me. But sharing it means sharing in the financial side of things too.

Leo is right about one thing—fixing this cabin up with him sounds like fun. Even though I just met him, I feel a connection reverberating between us. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt with any boy before. There’s something about him I’m drawn to. And it’s not simply his Southern charm and good looks. Leo is someone I feel like I could wrap myself around and never let go of for the rest of my life.

As he lowers me back to the ground, I slide against the length of him, and I can feel his desire for me. It piques my own craving. Our eyes lock, and I want to kiss him. I want to do a whole hell of a lot more than that. He dips his head, and I tip my mouth up, the buzz between us so electric.

“Hey, you two. What are we celebrating?” Nettie’s voice cuts through our intimacy, and I let go of Leo, adjusting my shirt.

Leo looks at me when he says, “I’ve decided to stay for the summer.”

“No way? Far out. This definitely calls for a toast.” Pete tosses Leo a beer.

I pick up my own I’d left on the log before our dance. My brain sticks on Leo’s words— stay for the summer . I haven’t thought about what will happen once summer ends. Will he go back to Texas? Forget all about me? Want to sell the cabin?

“To my cousin, Leo,” Pete begins, holding his beer can up, “may he have the most memorable summer ever.”

We all take a drink, and Leo’s gaze lands on me over the brim of his can. His brown eyes are dark and hooded. My body ignites, and I subconsciously squeeze my thighs together. I swallow the lump in my throat as I chug the lukewarm beer.

These intense feelings vibrating through me are new. I’ve seen plenty of nice-looking boys and dated a few of them, but none of them did to me what Leo can do with a single look. He has my nerves on hyperaware. My hormones are alive. There’s a hunger building in my core for something I’ve never experienced before. But I want to. And I want to with him.

“Giana and I have decided to pool our money together and buy this cabin and spend the summer fixing it up.”

“For real?” Nettie shrieks. The alcohol is already getting to her, I can tell. “Oh, Gigi, I’m so happy for you.” She bombards me, throwing her arms around me and hugging my neck loosely .

“Let’s just hope, between the two of us, we have enough money.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Leo winks at me. My brows pinch together as I consider his words, but I’m instantly distracted when Leo takes me by the hand. His calloused fingers send a warm zing throughout my body. “Come show me more of the cabin.”

I let him yank me back up the rickety porch steps and guide me inside the cabin, a flashlight in his hand leading our path. As soon as we’re inside, Leo wraps an arm around my waist and hauls me against him. I nearly slam into his chest and the air is sucked from my lungs. My heart beats violently in my chest.

We make eye contact in the darkness, his are wide and wild. There’s an urgency I find there that I can feel shoot straight through my limbs.

“Would it be improper if I kissed you right now?” His low voice scrapes against my skin.

I can’t decide if I’m honored he asked or annoyed he didn’t choose spontaneity and press his lips against mine.

“I think it would be improper if you didn’t.”

My answer surprises him at first until a calmness washes over his eyes, turning quickly into lust. He wants me. And the more he does, the more I want him too. My body rocks into him of its own accord. Shock ripples through me when I feel his erection against my low belly.

But I’m not nervous. I’m hypnotized by his craving for me. Completely and utterly spellbound.

As he lowers his head, his mouth drawing closer to mine, I allow my eyes to drift shut. His breath is shallow and rapid and it brushes against my lips before we even touch. And when our mouths finally collide, a spark ignites in my soul. It’s a connection so electric, I swear I can feel it in my bones. His soft lips move against mine with such precision, such meticulousness that I wonder if this man has manufactured this kiss to perfection.

But when the momentum picks up, and he deepens the kiss, it becomes more sporadic, wilder, and it stirs a deeper humming between my thighs. His lips part, and my tongue doesn’t pause, it sweeps into his mouth and finds his. A soft groan releases from his throat, and my toes curl inside my shoes. His fingers flex, and his hand slides down my back, but he stops just before he reaches my butt, teasing me at the hem of my shirt. A bit of disappointment settles in my belly as he pulls back, breaking our kiss.

“You still want to be my date to the wedding?” Leo asks, a little breathless.

I swallow and nod.

A satisfied grin appears on his mouth before he leans in and skims my lips with a light kiss. “Giana,” he says softly, “will you be mine for the summer?”

The question causes my heart to stall in my chest. At this moment, with our limbs entwined and our lips so close, my body aching for more of him, I want to say yes. I want to promise him eternity. My brain is working hard to focus, to talk some sense into my hormones, and not make drastic decisions on a whim.

But it’s just one summer.

So I nod. “For the summer.”

Cupping my head in his hand, he traces the pad of his thumb down my cheek. He gazes into my eyes so intently I can’t look away. “Something tells me, this is going to be a summer we’re never going to forget.”

My insides burn. Because I know, without a doubt, he’s right.

“ Y ou don’t even know him,” Nettie mutters from where she stands on a step stool.

Her mama is pinning the layers of her wedding gown so she can hem them. It’s only four days before Nettie’s wedding, and it’s not lost on me how last-minute this is. What if her mama ruins the dress? There’s only one formal wear shop in Maple Ridge, and their styles aren’t necessarily what I’d call in style .

My gaze drifts to Nettie’s mama, but she’s clearly not paying attention to our conversation as she holds layers of fabric in her hands and has pins sticking between her pressed lips.

“I have a good feeling about him,” I finally say when I look back up at Nettie, and I push my long hair off my bare shoulder.

Nettie rolls her eyes but smiles. “You’ve always been the risk taker out of the two of us.”

“This hardly seems like a risk. Nettie, I’m going to finally buy the cabin.” Just saying the words aloud causes my chest to fill with flighty butterflies.

“Yeah…and share it with someone else.” The reminder only slightly deflates my mood.

“Only for one summer. After that, it will be all mine.”

“Is that what you agreed on?”

We didn’t delve into all the details of how this would actually work. I’ve been so starry-eyed over the idea of it, I suppose I hadn’t thought about the logistics. “We’re meeting tonight for dinner to discuss the details before going to the bank tomorrow and putting in our offer.”

“Dinner?” A sly grin spreads on her lips .

Shrugging my shoulder, I say nonchalantly, “Shit, Nettie, it’s just dinner.”

“Language, Giana,” Nettie’s mama hisses.

I cringe and apologize before I go right into ignoring her again. “We’re adults. We can differentiate business from pleasure.”

Nettie’s brows waggle suggestively. “Yeah, but I’ll bet you wouldn’t mind mixing a little pleasure with your business.”

“Nettie Anne Baker,” her mama scolds again and stands, flattening the front of her dress. “We’re done here. Be quick about getting out of that thing, and be careful not to mess up all my work.” She shoots me a subtle frown as she passes me before going out of the room.

I know she thinks I’m a bad influence on Nettie, but if she only knew the scandalous things her daughter has done, she’d be pointing those disapproving frowns in another direction.

“Help me outta this thing, will you?”

Gathering all the layers of tulle and fabric, I pull as Nettie wriggles out the opening of the dress, maneuvering her shoulders without disturbing any pins. I lay the dress on her bed while she throws on a short-sleeved blouse and a pair of shorts.

My mind circles back to the night before and the intense kiss Leo and I shared. Spilling my guts to Nettie is one of my favorite pastimes. But this time, I want to keep it to myself for a bit longer. There’s something about holding onto this secret that makes it feel that much more special.

“Guess we’ll have to see what happens.” I sit on Nettie’s bed next to her wedding gown, being careful not to muss the fabric.

Nettie leans into her bureau, and I watch her reflection in the mirror as she paints her lips red. “We both know you two won’t be able to keep your hands off each other after being holed up together in that cabin all summer.” She winks at me .

Little does she know, the summer hasn’t even begun, and we already can’t keep our hands off one another. There’s a buzzing inside me even as I sit in Nettie’s room, just thinking about Leo. Anticipation wooshes from my head to my core as I count down the hours until dinner. And as silly as it sounds, count down the hours until our next kiss.

“Would that be such a terrible thing?” I trace the outline of an embroidered flower on Nettie’s quilt with my fingertip.

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt, is all. Ya know, when he goes back home at the end of summer.”

“ If he goes back home,” I say.

I glance up, and Nettie has already spun around and is looking at me. She crosses her arms and leans against her bureau. “See. This is what I’m afraid of. You’re already getting your hopes up.”

“Am not. All I’m saying is, after a summer in Maple Ridge, he may find it hard to go back home. Maple is charming. It has a way of luring people in and making it so they never want to leave.” I shrug. “Happened to my parents. Happened to Mr. Mel. He came here to ski one winter, met Lila, and the following spring, he moved here, married Lila, and bought the grocery store.”

“You’re right. Maple Ridge does have a way of getting under people’s skin.” But the concerned look she gives me says she’s not in agreement. She’s worried I’m about to make a colossal mistake.

And maybe I am.

Maybe Nettie is right and buying the cabin with Leo is a risk. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take. If it means accomplishing this dream, it’s worth it.

Even if it results in a broken heart at the end of summer.