I swallowed hard. This definitely sounded too good to be true. To be rid of their constant demands and guilt would change my life, but I couldn’t let the romance of that idea blur the truth. It was just another thing that would cost Mathias money. “It sounds like heaven, but I can’t let you do it, Mattie. I have cost you and your parents so much money over the years, and I can’t—no, I won’t—allow it to continue. I can shut them out some other way.”
“How?”
“I get a new number. They don’t know where I live now, and I don’t work at Butterfly Junction anymore. I change my name or something. I don’t know. They won’t go out of their way to find me if they can’t reach me. All I am is a money whore to them, always have been.”
“Honeybee,” he growled, his tone telling me I’d pushed him too far.
“Don’t honeybee me,” I said, shaking my head. “I will find a way to shut them out without it costing you money! I’m an adult now, and I can handle my own business!”
“Okay,” he said, turning me to face him. “I understand, but promise me something?” I nodded and he leaned forward to place a tender kiss on my forehead before he spoke. “Promise me if they start causing more problems, or you can’t handle the stress of them any longer, that you’ll let me help. I don’t care about the money, sweetheart. I care about you. In my eyes, you’re worth all the money in my bank account. If paying off your parents to leave you alone gives you one less burden to carry, then I’m all in. Okay?”
“I promise, but please, let me try my way first.”
He smiled and caressed my cheek, his head nodding. I gazed into his eyes and thought about what he said. He cares about me? Of course he cares about me as his best friend, but to say I’m worth all of the money in his bank account? That was more than caring about your best friend, right?
I stared at his chest, and I wanted to reach out and touch him. I wanted to do more than touch him. I wanted to give myself to him, all of me, to whatever part of him he could offer. I wanted that more than anything else on this plane of existence. I just didn’t know how. I couldn’t break through the barrier he kept around his heart no matter how hard I tried.
“Honey?” He was up in my face, his eyes searching mine. “Honey, come back to me,” he ordered, rubbing my temple with his thumb. “What’s your mind doing in there, baby?” His words were tender, and his eyes were filled with worry.
I knew what it was doing. It was malfunctioning again. It was bound to happen after the stress of the last few days. I blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Finally, I was able to take a deep breath.
“I’m here,” I croaked, my throat parched. “It’s the stress and the sun. I’m hot.”
“The sun brings it on?”
“I-I think so,” I stuttered, my head starting to hurt. “When I get hot, yeah.” I bent over and held my head while he stood up.
He lifted me and led me to the water, where he walked me into it, waist-deep, soaking our clothes. “I know the perfect way to cool off.”
He held me by my elbows so the waves didn’t topple me. “Our clothes . . .”
“They’ll dry. Stay in the water and cool off; then we’ll go back to the house. Just let the water cool you down first.”
I lowered myself until the cold water reached my neck and bobbed, the shock of it enough to cool a person instantly. I lay back, letting my head fall into the water too and soothe the pounding at my temples. He held me gently by my waist so I didn’t float too far out and get pulled under by the waves.
“This is nice.” My teeth chattered when the wind blew across us, but I didn’t care.
He chuckled and brushed my hair back off my forehead. “It’s cold, but if it’s doing the trick, we’ll stay.”
“Lay back,” I said, “It’s a stunning point of view.”
He tugged me closer to shore so my butt touched the bottom and then copied my posture, staring up into the light blue sky. It was dotted with fluffy white clouds that reminded me of cotton candy. Birds arced in the air as they swooped to avoid each other, and the sun shone down bright and hot. The Lady of the Lake would always be here to cool us, though. I rested my hand on his chest, the desire to do so too much to fight. He held it there, and we floated on the waves in silence.
“This is better than any headache pills.” I sat up and rested on the bottom of the lake. “The pain is gone.”
He helped me out of the water, holding my elbows as we walked back to shore. “I’m glad. We’ll have to start going to the beach at night only. I don’t want to do anything to cause the seizures. I’m sorry. I had no idea it was the heat.”
“Don’t apologize. I didn’t know either. Remember when Dr. Newsome talked about triggers? I guess stress and heat are two of mine.”
I worked my fingers through his wet hair, trying to straighten out the tresses. He hauled me in by my shoulders and rested his forehead on mine. “You’re gorgeous,” he whispered. “I’ve spent so much time pretending you aren’t that I still fight against admitting how much I want you right now.”
“How much do you want me?” I asked breathlessly, the whoosh of the lake stealing my words and pulling them out into the water.
“More than is appropriate for where our relationship is right now,” he answered, his eyes closing. “Promise me you’ll hang in there and let me figure this out.”
“I haven’t gone anywhere in twenty years. I’m not leaving now.”
His lips found their way to mine, and before long we both forgot about being cold, what our relationship was, or what was appropriate. Instead, we let our hearts and our bodies guide us into a kiss that said more than our words ever would.
