Beating Heart: A Small Town, Single Dad Romance (Magnolia Falls Series Book 4)

I held up the skirt of the dress and kicked my cowboy boots off on the patio, nearly losing my balance, most likely from the champagne I was still drinking. I’d cut off the hard liquor a while ago, but the bubbly stuff left me with a nice, lingering buzz. Nash steadied my shoulders until I was standing fine on my own two feet. Then he took off his shoes and jeans and tee, leaving him in nothing but a pair of navy briefs. I tried not to stare, but clearly, I still had a good buzz going, as I’d been boozing it up all day.

“If you keep staring at it, I can’t control the way it’ll react.”

“Are you referring to your penis?” I chuckled.

“Can we not insult him by saying penis? I prefer dick. Cock. Shlong. Big daddy.”

My head fell back in laughter. Nash Heart had turned my day around. Finding him and my brother standing at my back door had been unexpected. Normally, I’d hate being interrupted, maybe even a little embarrassed, when I was having a moment with Beyonce. But today, I welcomed it.

Welcomed them.

Easton was a no-brainer. He’d been my other half my entire life.

But Nash, why did I want him there when I was having a pity party? I’d tried hard to avoid him all week. This pull that I felt toward him terrified me. But I’d been thrilled to see him standing there today.

“All right, let’s do this,” he said. And before I could respond, he scooped me up and tossed me over his shoulder, fireman-style. He ran toward the water as I laughed hysterically.

In all the years I’d been with Collin, he’d never picked me up or carried me. Not once. Not that I had asked him to or needed him to.

But this simple act of chivalry… it did something to me.

Maybe it was because of what today was supposed to be.

He charged into the lake, and we both crashed into the dark blue water. I went all the way under and found those abs beneath the surface as I swam toward him. He was reaching his hand out for me, and I took it. I came up, breaking through the surface with a gasp. The fabric was pooling around me, and it was heavier than I’d expected. But Nash was right there, pulling me closer.

I tried to find the bottom with my feet, but it was too deep. In one quick move, he tugged me up so my legs could wrap around his waist as he held me against his hard body.

And by hard body, I mean…

Hard.

Body.

Everywhere.

I could feel all of him, even with ten pounds of tulle and silk surrounding us. He was standing, his shoulders just above the surface of the water.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice gruff, as I pushed his wet hair away from his handsome face.

“Yes. I’m good. How freaked out are you right now?” I asked.

“Why would I be freaked out?”

“Oh, I don’t know. You found your neighbor, who also happens to be your kid’s doctor, dancing with a bottle of champagne and wearing a wedding dress. And now you’re in the water with the crazed bride. I could see how that would freak someone out.”

“Not freaked out at all, Sunny.” His tongue swiped out along his bottom lip, and my drunken body reacted by pressing harder against him.

You’re a doctor, for God’s sake. Control yourself.

“No?”

“Nope. I live with a six-year-old. I’ve been puked on, changed shitty diapers, and been asked more rapid-fire questions than any man should ever be asked.” His hands were on my waist and my back, and I couldn’t even believe I was out here in my rejected wedding dress with my legs wrapped around him.

Who even am I?

“Well, thank you for showing up today and running into the water with me.” My teeth sank into my bottom lip.

“Tell me about your call with Farah.”

I startled at his words. He said it so casually, as if it were perfectly normal for him to be there for me. To listen to me.

“Do you have anyone that you’ve been friends with for so long that you can’t imagine your life without them?”

“I do.”

“Well, that’s how it is with her. I can’t remember a time in my life when she wasn’t there. We didn’t go to the same college, but we were only twenty minutes away from one another during that time. And she became a nurse, and I became a doctor, just like we’d always planned. And when I got my residency at UCSF, we celebrated that night because she was at the same hospital. Everyone there knows our story, so even my place of work became tainted by what happened.” I paused and shook my head in disbelief. “We always said we’d work together and marry brothers and raise our kids together. And now, everything is… different. And I swear, that loss is harder than breaking off the engagement with Collin. I don’t miss him the way that I miss my best friend.”

He listened intently, and it felt good to get it off my chest. If I said this to Easton, he would fly off the handle and tell me what a piece of shit Farah was. And I knew that it was true, but it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.

“I get that. Betrayal is tough, especially when it comes from someone you love. I don’t trust easily. I keep my circle small. And if one of my best friends did to me what she did to you, it would kill me. So I get it.”

“Really? Thank you. That makes me feel better.”

“Of course. And that doesn’t mean you should forgive her. That’s up to you. Personally, once my trust is broken, it’s hard to turn that around. But you have a history with her, and it’s normal that it’s hard.”

“I want to hate her, and a part of me does. I know there is no going back after what happened. But when I heard her voice today, I remembered five-year-old Farah, the girl I ate lunch with every single day in kindergarten. And I remembered ten-year-old Farah, who slept over at my house almost every single night the summer before we started fifth grade. And sixteen-year-old Farah who got her driver’s license on her birthday and came straight to my volleyball game and waited for me to finish before we went to her birthday dinner. She was such a huge part of my life.”

“And she always will be. Regardless of whether or not you have her in your life moving forward, you’ll always have those memories.”

I couldn’t stop staring at his mouth. His plump lips. The chiseled jaw peppered in day-old scruff. My hands moved to his strong shoulders, gently tracing along each muscle until I moved it along the tattoo. Dark ink in a beautiful scroll that I’d been so curious about.

Ride or die. Brothers till the end. Loyalty always. Forever my friend.

“What does this mean?”

“River, Romeo, Hayes, King, and I all have it inked on our skin as a reminder of our friendship.”

A lump formed in my throat. “You do understand, don’t you?”

He knew what it was like to trust someone so deeply that you’d walk through fire for them. So, he understood how deep this wound had cut me. I felt it in the way his gaze met mine, and it comforted me.

“I do.”

My teeth sank into my bottom lip. “I’m glad I moved next door to you, Nash Heart.”

“Me, too.” He chuckled.

“Remember the other day when you seemed like you were going to kiss me, and I ran out of your house like a bat out of hell?”

This sexy grin spread across his handsome face. “I remember.”

“I wanted you to kiss me.”

“I know you did.”

My head fell back on a laugh. “Well, don’t get cocky about it.”

“Not cocky, just a straight shooter. I wanted to kiss you. You wanted to kiss me.”

“You make it sound so simple.” My gaze locked with his.

“Listen, Emerson, I know you came here to get away from everything. And I’m sure that finding out that your fiancé and your best friend were having an affair and then calling off your wedding is a lot to process. I get it. So I’m not here to complicate your life. My life is pretty simple. I’m an open book. My world revolves around my little boy, and I like it that way. I know you’re not staying, and I also know that starting something up would complicate things.”

“But?” I shook my head and chuckled. “I’m guessing there’s a but in there.”

“But… I like you. I like spending time with you. Hell, I even like irritating you.” He laughed. “And yeah, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about kissing you. All the fucking time.”

I sucked in a breath. He was so honest and open. I wasn’t used to that.

“I like spending time with you, too. And I wouldn’t ever want to do anything to complicate things for Cutler. But obviously, I’m attracted to you, and it’s getting harder and harder to avoid you.”

He thrust forward just enough for me to feel him beneath me.

“Speaking of hard,” he said, his voice teasing. “It doesn’t have to be complicated. Cutler is already invested in you. We’re neighbors and friends. It’s not like I’d have to introduce you to him. The kid is already crazy about you, and he knows you’re only here temporarily. So I don’t see how kissing you causes anyone any stress. Hell, maybe it’ll suck, and we’ll never want to do it again.”

My heart raced as his eyes zeroed in on my lips.

“That’s a good point. But I don’t have a lot to compare it to. I’ve literally only been with one man in my life.” I shrugged. I was putting it all out there. I didn’t feel judged by Nash.

I felt safe.

“He’s a dumb fucking dude to have messed this up. But if it means I get to kiss you, then I’m certainly not complaining.”

“So, what are you waiting for?” I whispered, just as the sun moved behind the clouds and the sky darkened, as if it were preparing for this moment.

His hand moved to the back of my head, tangling in my hair, as he pulled my mouth down to his. His lips were soft but firm, and he took control immediately. His tongue slipped inside and found mine as he groaned into my mouth. He tilted my head, taking the kiss deeper, and I melted against his body.

The man could kiss. His hands were everywhere, rocking me against him as my hips started to move. My fingers tugged at his hair, urging him closer, like I couldn’t get enough.

I’d never been kissed like this.

I ground up against him, riding up and down his erection, as we made out like teenagers in the middle of the lake. My breaths were coming faster, and I was so turned on that I couldn’t think straight.

I bucked against him faster.

Harder.

Feeling every inch of his desire between my thighs.

It was too much and not enough all at the same time.

I was panting now as my entire body started to tingle. My head fell back, and his lips found my neck as he continued moving me up and down his shaft. Even with our clothes on and all this fabric between us, I could feel everything.

Every inch of him.

He was long and thick and hard.

I was dry humping him like it was my day job.

“That’s it, baby. Let go.” His words were a balm to my tattered heart.

Bright lights exploded behind my eyes like bursts of sunshine, and his name was a whisper in the breeze moving around us.

I went over the edge in a way I didn’t even know I needed.

I continued riding out every last bit of pleasure as I held onto this man like he was my lifeline.

As if I’d needed to let everything go.

Let myself go.

Let myself feel good again.

I waited for my breathing to calm before I raised my head and looked at him. He had this ridiculously sexy grin on his face, his hair was wet and disheveled, and his gray eyes were locked with mine.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey yourself,” he said, his tongue sliding out along his bottom lip.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, because I wondered if he thought the fact that I’d just rode him like a professional bull rider, dressed in a wedding gown, had come off as a little desperate.

“I’m thinking that you’re fucking beautiful. Even if I just get to look at you for a short time, I’ll take it.”

I sucked in a breath. “You really are a straight shooter, huh?”

“I am. Always have been.”

“So, do you make girls orgasm just by kissing them often?” I teased, feeling my cheeks heat. “I’m sorry. Clearly, it’s been a while for me.”

“Hey,” he said, his hand moving beneath my chin as he turned me to face him. “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Apologize for what just happened. I fucking loved it. Loved seeing you come apart. Loved knowing I could make you come while fully dressed.” He smirked. “And no. I don’t make out with a lot of women.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve never stood in the water, making out with a woman like this. I’m a dad. I don’t get out a ton, and when I do, it’s usually a casual hookup. Nothing deep. So we get down to business pretty quickly.”

I chuckled. “Down to business, huh? So what was this? You didn’t get down to business at all.”

“Today is about you. And I’m just glad that I could make you feel good on a day that was tough. I mean, Beyonce on repeat and a bottle of champagne were a good start, but a lake orgasm is a strong finale.”

“Lake orgasms are clearly underrated,” I said, shaking my head.

“And you’re beautiful.”

Three simple words. And you’re beautiful. They had a lump forming in my throat. It felt like he knew exactly what I needed to hear sometimes. I didn’t know how it was possible, but I wasn’t questioning it.

“Thank you,” I said, just as the shouting from my back porch had us both turning.

“Dinner’s here!” Easton’s voice boomed.

Nash shifted me so I was on his back. “Hold on. I’ll swim us in. This dress is going to be heavy for you to try to move in.”

And he swam me to shore.

Like a knight in shining armor.

My sexy, off-limits neighbor was full of surprises.