“I tried calling him, but he wouldn’t answer his phone. Finally someone picked up. It was a girl.”
Travis cursed under his breath.
“Nothing was the same. He hugged me and said he was sorry about my parents, and that was it. We never talked about it. We never fixed what we broke, so we just slowly grew apart as if we hadn’t caused this giant divide in what had been a lifelong friendship. He was the only tie I had to your family, so when he pushed me away, I felt… I felt like an orphan.”
She began to sob harder into his chest. He whispered encouragement into her ear. “I would have died that year without Grandma.”
“What do you mean without Grandma?”
Kacey smiled despite her tears. “Remember that summer she said she was touring the United States?”
He chuckled. “Oh yes, I received a postcard every other week.”
“Well, those postcards were bought at a bookstore, and Grandma spent the entire summer with me.”
“What?”
“Yup.” Kacey wiped more tears away and smiled. “She saved me, said she’d always be there for me and take care of me. That’s why it was so weird when she stopped writing last month, and then Jake came in with this huge story about how she was sick and dying and… well, I had to come even if it meant I was manipulating everyone to do so.”
“I understand.” Travis used his thumb to wipe an escaped tear from her cheek. Kacey’s breath hitched. Her eyes glanced at his lips then back up to his gaze.
“Kace…” His lips descended slowly, even though his body was going a hundred miles an hour. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
“Okay.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Kacey knew she shouldn’t feel nervous; it wasn’t as if they hadn’t kissed before, but now that everything was out there, she felt even more vulnerable.
What if he rejected her too?
Dang, she hadn’t realized how insecure she was until this very moment in Travis’s arms.
His lips touched hers.
It wasn’t even really a kiss.
He pulled back. His eyes hooded with desire.
“I can’t.”
“What?” Her heart froze in her chest. “You can’t kiss me?”
“No.” He shook his head and laughed. “It wouldn’t be right to kiss you in the tree house.”
Kacey stiffened. “Why?”
“I saw you and Jake have your first kiss in this tree house.”
“We were ten.”
“It still counts.”
“I cried afterwards!” Kacey pushed against his chest, but his arms held her braced against him.
“I don’t want you to cry this time,” he murmured in her hair, and then kissed her neck. His lips were warm and soft as he took her skin between them, gently sucking. “Let’s go.”
He pulled away, leaving Kacey completely shaken.