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“Kissing is kind of intimate, Sugar. You’re supposed to be close.”
“All doe-eyed and innocent. You make me want to ruin you. The way you’ve been dancing around me, like you don’t know exactly what being around you does to me, makes me want you that much more.”
“I’m safe with you, right? I’m… I’m not scared when I’m with you.”
wanted her to feel safe. To feel like she could explore womanhood without judgment or risk. But she was so fucking young. Just twenty-two…
“Acting like my dad is not a turn-on.” I grinned as I ripped her leggings down and threw them off. “Sugar, I’m not your dad, but I can sure as hell be your daddy.”
“I’m not going to take your virginity, Caroline. You’re gonna give it to me.”
“You are more than the sum of your past and present. The future is an unknown variable, and that’s the best part.” He kissed my forehead. “Don’t give up.”
“I see the ocean and think of how strong you are. And the way you look at that sunrise? The brilliant colors, the power of the waves, the steadfastness of the sun—that’s the way I look at you. No matter how hard the days are, the sun keeps rising. It never stops. Never gives up. That’s exactly who you are.”
“Just because your pain is different than mine doesn’t make it any less valid. Life hurts. Things are never black and white. It’s not even shades of gray.”
Maybe Caroline and I weren’t actually together, and maybe this had gotten out of hand. But in this moment, Caroline Tyree was mine.
I realized that I would miss Caroline more than I had been missing my old life. She crept into my heart without warning and made herself a fixture I couldn’t bear to lose.
I let the roar of the ocean drown out my thoughts and, for a moment, let myself pretend I was Austin Hale’s girl.
“Let yourself be wanted; not just needed. Fulfilling needs is easy for you. Letting yourself be wanted isn’t. You’re the guy whose arms people leap from after you rescue them. You watch them run to someone else time and time again and it kills you. You’re bleeding out inside while pretending to be strong enough to survive it.”
“Most of all,” he said, catching his breath. “My favorite thing about you is that you’re mine.”
“Don’t tiptoe through life. Make it messy. Make it loud. Take up space. Try something new.”
