Chapter 52

52

H enry covers my eyes with his hands, shuffling me forward several yards before removing them. "You can look," he whispers, a catch in his voice like he's nervous.

I open my eyes, blinking several times until they adjust to the light streaming through the leaves. And then I see it. Something that looks like a moon gate sits to the side of Charlie's studio, copper and gold burnished metallic sunflowers twining in a gigantic circle, a gorgeous macrame and wood swing set in the center.

"You made me a swing?" Memories of my mom immediately come flooding back, forcing me to blink away tears.

"Let me show you how it works."

"It's a swing, Henry."

"No, look." He fiddles with a locking mechanism on both sides of the swing, which allows the seat to move up and down. "That way, Summer can use it, too."

I really do start crying then. I try to stifle the first sob with the base of my palm but fail miserably.

"Please say your crying doesn't mean you hate it." Henry chuckles into my hair, scoops me into his arms, and holds me tight .

"It's perfect, Henry. And for you to think of little Summer. And the sunflowers. God, the sunflowers." I sniffle, wiping my eyes.

“I know how much they mean to you. I thought it would be a little piece of your mother here in the forest while you're playing with her grandbaby."

"Oh, Henry." I press my salty lips to his cheek, breaking away as the sobs come harder. What did I ever do to deserve him?

"I worked on it every night we weren't together," he admits.

"Wait. You made this? By hand?" I ask, ducking out of his arms and walking closer. The petals look like they're made of spun gold, the middle of the flower is copper, and the leaves and stems are a beautiful shade of burnished green. "How?"

"I'll show you sometime."

"Can I show you something sometime?" I ask, biting my lip, trying to look sexy despite the tears dripping from my chin.

"You can show something tomorrow night," he replies, his voice deep and raspy. He lifts me so my feet are on top of his and walks me back into the forest, pressing my body against a tree.

"Not tonight?" I ask, giving him my best puppy dog eyes and a quivering lower lip.

He growls deep in his throat, and my knees would have buckled if he wasn't anchoring me against the trunk with his hips, something long and hard pressing into my stomach. I start to reach between us, but he's faster than me, capturing my wrists and pinning them over my head. He dips down, grazing my jaw with his nose, then dragging his lips down my throat.

"My naughty girl," he rasps against my skin, nipping at my neck. He captures my groan with his mouth, cupping the side of my head with his free hand, my head and deepening the kiss.

I break away, chest heaving, needing to put some space between us before I combust. I walk to the swing, testing it with only some of my weight before sitting down fully.

"Did you really just do that?" Henry asks, eyes dark. I don't have time to react before he tackles me out of the swing and onto the ground, taking the brunt of the fall. "You don’t trust me? Is this how it's going to be?" he asks, digging his fingers into my ribs and tickling me until my eyes are streaming. "Are you going to test out the guest suites to make sure they don't fall down before the first guest stays in them?"

I slither out of his grip, scrambling to my feet, and make a break for it My feet are nearly silent on the bed of pine needles, but I have no idea if I'm making any headway because I'm scared that if I look back, I'll crash headlong into a tree, which is not on my bingo card for today. I break out into the openness of the orchard and stop running, listening for any signs of him behind me. Nothing. I turn back toward the woods, scanning the trees. He slams into me from the side, cradling me against the mass of his body as we fall.

"No more tickling!" I shriek, trying to wiggle out of his grip.

"I won't," he laughs, holding onto me tight. "But now I know what punishment to use when you're a bad girl."

"I'd prefer a slap on the ass, thank you very much."

His hand makes contact with my butt, his palm flat, the loud clap echoing off the trees.

"Like that?" he growls, squeezing and kneading my ass cheek.

"Just like that," I breathe, pressing up into his hand, burning for him. He hums deep in his throat, like he's cataloging that information for later, then moves his hand up to my lower back, moving it in slow circles. We gaze at the sky together, watching as the sunset slowly seeps into twilight. I'll miss these long summer days with my guys when winter steals the light.

"What do you have planned for us this weekend?" I ask, tipping my head back to look at him.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," he says, his eyes sparkling.

"You don't even have anything planned, do you?" I tease, stroking my fingertip over the dimple on his chin.

"I've had this planned since the moment I met you, Isla."

Something in his face stops me from blowing him off. "What do you mean? You planned how you were going to have sex with me the first second you saw me behind the bar last year? "

"I planned exactly how I was going to do a lot of things with you, Isla. To you. For you."

"That's ridiculous, Henry."

"I didn't believe in love at first sight until that night," he says, the admission tumbling from his lips.

My heart thumps, and I bury my head in his chest, my cheeks on fire. What do I say to the man who just said the words I’ve dreamed of hearing since I was a little girl?

"Thank you, Henry. Thank you for not playing it cool, for not pretending to be someone you aren't. You have no idea how much those words mean to me. And for what it's worth, I think I fell in love with you a little that day, too." I push myself up on my elbow, stretching to kiss him. The warmth of his hand cupping my neck makes me shiver.

"Time to go home, baby. You're cold." He helps me up, then lifts me into his arms like I barely weigh anything.

"Sleep with me tonight?" I ask, pressing my cheeks to his chest.

"Isla–"

"Just sleep, Henry. Nothing else."

"How can I refuse when you look at me like that?"

"The same way you can refuse to have sex with me for what seems like an eternity."

"Just wait, Isla. In twenty-four hours, I'll be blowing your mind." He looks down at me, a dark gleam in his eyes.

"Is that a promise?"

"It's an oath."