“Holy shit!” Summer yells. “What the hell have I missed?”

I turn my head in her direction and shrug my shoulder. I haven’t seen or talked much with her this whole trip so there is a lot to fill her in on, but right this second isn’t the time.

“Wow, this is a surprise.” Rex says as he steps up behind Summer.

Knox kisses the side of my head, “I guess our time has come to an end…for now.”

I shiver as his husky voice wraps around me and leaves me weak in the knees with a promise for more to come.

I take a step away from Knox as Summer reaches for my arm and drags me behind her all the way back to the room she is sharing with Rex.

She sits Indian style on the bed, “Now, what the hell was that back there?”

I pull back the covers on her bed, climb in and cover my legs up, “Where do I even start?”

“How about the beginning?” Summer says as she rolls her eyes. “And don’t you dare leave a single thing out.”

So for the next hour I fill Summer in on everything that has happened since we got here. She doesn’t let me leave a thing out, trust me I tried to leave some of our more intimate moments out but she knows me too well and doesn’t allow it. I see her emotions as I lay out each piece of this weekend and it’s exactly how I’ve felt it. The annoyance, confusion, anxiety, happiness, surprise, desire, curiosity, and the sadness. It’s been an emotional roller coaster, one crazy ride I’m not sure I can get off.

Summer sighs when I finish. “Damn girl,” She runs a hand through her sunshine blonde hair. “So much for trying to keep him at an arms distance, huh?”

I shake my head, “I’m falling for him, Summer. He’s so different when it’s just the two of us together. I know he’s got demons he’s trying to get past but what if he can’t? What am I going to do?”

Summer lies down on the bed and rests her head in my lap. “He’ll get past it, it’s going to take some time, I’m sure, but if everything you said is true it sounds like he’s falling for you too.” I scoop Summer’s hair up into a ponytail and twist it into a knot.

“I’m scared, Summer. I’ve only let one other person in like this and look how that turned out.” I rub at the tightness in my chest from the memory.

Summer rolls over and looks up at me, “Enough of the serious stuff, we’ll deal with that shit later. Right now, I want to know about the important stuff.” She wiggles her eyebrows up and down at me. “So, I’m wondering if he knows how to use his magic stick like Rex does.” She tries to suppress her giggle but fails miserably.

“I assure you my magic stick works just fine, Summer.” Knox answers when he walks into the room with a smug look on his face. He deserves that smug smile.

Summer, is absolutely speechless which is a very hard thing to accomplish. She has a comeback for everything. Her cheeks grow pinker with every second that ticks by.

Knox’s laugh is low and throaty, “Don’t get all embarrassed now. I’m sure my brother has shown you what us Mitchells can do.” He winks at me and holds his hand out. “I’m stealing her for a few minutes so we can go get dressed.”

I place my hand in his and climb from the bed. Smiling, I let Knox lead me back to the bedroom to change. I hear a little girl giggling somewhere in the distance. I tilt my head to the side, eye brows furrow. “Did you hear that?”

Knox nods, “Yup. That’s Ava, you’ll meet her in a bit.”

A knot in my belly forms wondering what a little girl could be doing here. Is this the something that Knox couldn’t talk to me about yet? If she is Knox’s can I handle that, a little girl that looks just like him? Light brown hair that tumbles down her back and those sparkly eyes? My heart beat picks up a notch.

“What’s running through that beautiful head of yours?” Knox asks as we walk into the bedroom and he shuts the door.

I fiddle with the hem of his shirt that I am still wearing. I keep my head down, “Is she yours?”

When Knox doesn’t answer right away I look up and a painful expression etches his face. He lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head, “No, she isn’t mine.”

I sigh in relief.

Knox raises an eyebrow at me, “Worried were you?”

Trying to play it cool, I shake my head, “Nope, just curious.” I look around for my bathing suit before remembering I left it in the bathroom.

I see Knox in the corner of my eye with a half-smile playing on his face, “You were worried.”

I roll my eyes, “Was not.”

Standing in the bathroom I start to unbutton his shirt as Knox comes to stand behind me. “Look at me.” He commands.

I look into the mirror, into his smoldering blue eyes. His sun kissed, well-defined muscled body towers behind me. Knox’s gaze drops from my eyes to my shoulder where he leans forward and places a kiss. Something intense flares in his eyes when they meet mine again. My heartbeat throbs in my ears.

“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

Not as beautiful as you think, my heart whispers back.

“Look at me.” Knox repeats his words from earlier. “You don’t see it do you?”

I chew on my lower lip and shake my head.

“Jasmine,” He rest his hands on the sink on either side of me, caging me in. “I know you feel what I feel. I can see it in your eyes. No one,” he licks his lips, “has stirred these emotions inside me in a long time. I’m still trying to work them out myself but I’m letting you in. It’s all I have to offer right now and I know that pretty little head of yours wants to know everything but like I said earlier I’m not ready for that yet.”

I drop my eyes to my hands that are still playing with the buttons on his shirt. “I’m okay with waiting for you to be ready. There are things from my past that I don’t want to talk about either. Actually they’re not even worth talking about but I should at least tell you what I had to deal with.”

Knox kisses my neck and it causes me to shiver. “Time, we just need time.” I nod my head in agreement. “While we take it one day at a time, just” He takes a deep breath and lets it out “be patient with me. I’m not always easy to deal with. Just ask those guys downstairs.”

“I’ve got the patience of a saint.”

Knox gives me an irresistibly devastating smile. “So do you need help with the rest of those buttons?”