Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove, #1)

by Laura Pavlov

Lila fell back on the bed in a fit of laughter, and there was something about the sound of her laugh that had always felt like home to me. It was genuine and real, just like her.

Kline chuckled. “Well, I may not know you well enough to read you, but I have been working with Hugh for a while now, and he doesn’t look at anyone the way he looks at you.” My chest squeezed at his words. “How does he look at me?” “Like you’re the only girl in the room,” he said,

Because she was my girl, wasn’t she? Maybe I couldn’t have her, but she was mine.

That kind of love where it’s clear they can’t live without one another.

I’d seen lots of women bare themselves for me over the years. But nothing had compared to this. Because none of them had been Lila.

Her hand came up and rested on my cheek. “The only thing that hurts is when you deny me.” Fuck me. This woman owned me.