“And you, pretty girl, are my heart.”

My Daddy swore I was too young to understand what love was. I can’t tell you how many times he’d written off my feelings for Hendrix as nothing more than a simple teenage crush. He’d even told me there would be more boys as the years went on.

But I knew better.

No matter how many years passed, there would be no more boys, and there would be no more so-called crushes. I may have only been sixteen, but I swear to you, I knew with every ounce of my heart that the boy standing in front of me was the only one I’d ever want.

I felt it in the deepest recesses of my soul, and whether Daddy believed it or not, I didn’t care. I may have been a silly teenage girl, but I knew what was in my heart, and in my heart, was him.

Hendrix Cole was mine.

Now, forever, and always.

“Hendrix…”

“Shh.” He squeezed my hand in his. “Don’t say anything, Maddie.”

What? Why? “But—”

He turned towards me, his face a picture of determination. “Just let me show you, pretty girl.” 

“Okay.” My heart pounded as I followed behind him, making sure to keep my eyes locked on his leather-clad back. Don’t look down! I told myself.

The roar of the water grew louder, and the moonlight grew brighter with every step we took. When we were halfway across the bridge, Hendrix stopped, and I nearly slammed into his back. “Close your eyes, Maddie.”

Oh jeez. Hesitantly, I closed my eyes and gripped the back of his leather jacket in my fingers. “They’re closed.”

My hands were pulled from his jacket as he turned around. I may have whimpered as my body swayed and I started to lose my balance. I had to be one of the clumsiest people on Earth. Hendrix wrapped an arm around my back, catching me before my knees slammed into a wooden railroad tie. “The next time I see you, you better not be wearing flip-flops,” he grumbled in my ear.

Eyes still closed, I smirked through the panic. “Are you nuts? Of course, I’ll be wearing them the next time you see me.”

He growled. “Wear your damn sneakers, Maddie.”

I shook my head in defiance. “No.”

“Why the hell not?”

I blew out a frustrated breath. Just the thought of wearing my tennis shoes made my feet hurt. “Because they suffocate my feet. My piggies need to breathe.”

“Piggies?”

I laughed. “My toes, doofus.”

He grumbled. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.”

“Hey, that’s my line!” I playfully swung my arm in his direction but didn’t connect.

His arm tightened around my back. “Hold still.” As always, I listened and stopped moving. I squealed when Hendrix picked me up off the ground and spun me around. At least, I think he spun me around. My eyes were still closed so I wasn’t exactly sure what was happening. “Alright, on the count of three I want you to open your eyes and look straight ahead.”

I nodded. “I can do that.”

Hendrix moved the arm wrapped around my belly and gripped both of my hips in his hands. “Alright, pretty girl. One.” I exhaled. “Two.” I inhaled. “Three.” I opened my eyes and looked straight ahead.

All the air left my lungs in one quick swoosh. “Oh, my God.”

About ten feet in front of us, in the middle of the trestle bridge, was a thick, blue blanket spread across the wooden beams, edges hanging over the sides. In the middle of the blanket: two pillows, a solid black backpack, and another folded blanket. Sitting about two feet beyond the blanket, were two unlit candles.

How did I not see this when we first got on the bridge?

Probably because a certain behemoth was blocking my view!

Speaking of behemoths, I turned to Hendrix. “Did you do this?” He nodded once. “How…” My voice trailed off, and my mouth hung open as my heart rate sped up. I rubbed my hand across my forehead in disbelief. I can’t believe it. Moments ticked by and silence surrounded us. I looked at the blanket again just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I pointed towards the romantic setup and blinked rapidly. “You did this all for me?” My voice was a barely a whisper.

Running his calloused hands down my arms, Hendrix replied, “Yeah, baby, I did. I wanted…”

He pulled his eyes away from mine and looked out over the river that surged below us. He dropped his hands from my arms and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked nervous. But why?

“When I found this spot, I knew it was special.” Entwining my fingers with his, he lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to my knuckles. “I thought it could be our special spot.”

I will not cry.

Oh, who the hell was I kidding? I was totally going to cry.

“I’d like that,” I said, stepping closer to him and closing the gap between us. Resting my head on his hard chest, I inhaled. He smelled so dang good! “I’d like that a lot.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded as tears filled my eyes. “Yeah, handsome.”

I inhaled again. Seriously, I couldn’t get enough of his scent. His beating heart sounded in my right ear, and that alone calmed my frazzled nerves.

Hendrix wrapped his arms around me and swayed me from side to side. I sighed in contentment. I no longer cared that I was suspended mid-air on a wooden bridge that was almost as old as my Grandmama because this. was. heaven!

Moments passed before Hendrix spoke again. “Come on.” He stepped back and dropped his arms from around me. “I’ve got something else I want to show you.”

Dang, it! I didn’t want the moment to end. I almost pitched a full-fledged hissy fit and demanded that he put his arms back around me and let me lean against his chest some more but I didn’t. I’d never win an argument against Hendrix. As Grandmama would say, he could out-stubborn a mountain. “Lead the way.”

Turning around, Hendrix guided us to the blanket. Plopping down in the middle of the soft comforter, I slipped off my flip-flops. Hendrix sat down beside me and pulled the backpack into his lap. Unzipping it, he pulled out a set of matches and lit both candles. Then he pulled out a thick book and handed it to me.

“You brought a book?” Color me surprised.

Hendrix shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. I saw straight through him though. I could tell by his lack of eye contact and rapid breathing that he was nervous about giving me the book. I wasn’t quite sure why but I was going to find out. “I thought you’d like it.” His voice shook as he spoke. It was so unlike his normal self-assuredness that I did a double take.

“Why did you decide to get me a book? Normally you just bring me ice cream on your way home from work,” I teased, walking my fingers up his shin. For the last year, Hendrix had been working at a small engine repair shop that sat across the street from the local Dairy Queen. Needless to say, he brought me a chocolate dipped cone at least twice a week.

He smiled and swatted my hand away.

He was ticklish, even if he’d never admit it.

Raising his brows, he let his eyes roam over me. I squirmed in response. “Trust me, pretty girl, I like what ice cream does to your body, but I thought we could share this together.” He cut his eyes at me. “Because you damn sure never share your ice cream.”

I started to laugh but stopped when I replayed his words in my head. I like what ice cream does to your body. I looked down at my thighs and belly. Um… I wasn’t fat, but I wasn’t exactly skinny either. I looked back up and met his eyes. “Are you making fun of me, Hendrix Cole?”

He flinched. “What?” I was only teasing him. Hendrix would never make fun of me, and God knows he’d punch anybody who did.

I pointed my finger at him. “Listen here, handsome. I know my thighs and butt are kinda fluffy, but that doesn’t give you the right to speak about my ice cream eating habits. M'kay?” I gave him my best-wounded doe eye look and forced my bottom lip to tremble.

He narrowed his eyes. He saw straight through my little charade. “Knock that shit off.”

I flipped my loose hair over my shoulder. “And if I don’t?”

He shrugged. “Keep it up, and I’ll crawl through your window in the middle of the night wearing a ski mask and carrying an axe.”

My mouth dropped open. He didn’t just say that! I picked up one of my flip-flops and smacked his arm with it. “That’s.” Smack. “Just.” Smack. “Mean!” Smack. He laughed and I smacked him again.

He grabbed my shoe and ripped it out of my hand. “I’m just kidding so quit hitting me! I get enough of that shit already!” My face dropped, and my eyes immediately searched his exposed skin for any signs of bruising. Did I miss it before? “Baby, stop it.”

My eyes met his. “Did Pop hit you again?” I fisted my small hands. “Because if he did, I’m gonna… I’ll…” Heck, I didn’t know what I’d do. I couldn’t beat the man. He was too big. Maybe I could run him over with Grandmama’s car though. She drove a Cadillac. That thing would do some damage. Wouldn’t it?

Hendrix flicked the end of my nose with his finger. “Stop it.” He ran a hand up my thigh. “Pop hasn’t hit me in well over a year. You know that.”

“I know, but I thought—”

He shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about Pop hitting me, pretty girl. I was talking about the guys down at the gym.”

My mouth formed an O. “Oh.” I was an idiot.

For the past couple of years, Hendrix had been training as a boxer. It began when he started taking a basic class, but it didn’t take long for one of the coaches to see how good he was. He offered to train him one-on-one—for free, mind you—and the rest was history. Since then, Hendrix had won a bunch of matches, including one championship.

I couldn’t have been prouder.

“I like how you fisted your little hands though. Ready to defend me against Pop, baby?” He smirked and almost got himself smacked again. Not really, but the thought crossed my mind.

“Bite me, handsome.”

He raised his brows. “Bend over, pretty girl.”

I half snorted, half laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that!”

He smiled. “You asked for it.”

I stuck out my tongue and blew a raspberry. We both laughed at my childishness.

Moments passed and our laughs died down. Somewhat.

Still giggling, I bit my lower lip before resting my hand on Hendrix’s leg. “Really though, why’d you decide to get me a book?”

His eyes dropped to the ground while his cheeks reddened a little. Was Hendrix blushing? Holy crap! “I know how much you like to read and I thought… I thought you could read it aloud so I can…” His voice trailed off as my stomach dropped.

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. I already knew what he would say.

. . . experience it too.

I was so stupid! I should have known!

Hendrix loved books almost as much as I did. Problem was reading was hard for him due to his dyslexia It didn’t matter though because I didn’t mind reading to him. In fact, I loved it.

I flipped the book over in my hand to get a look at the cover. “Wuthering Heights? You want me to read this to you?”

His intoxicating brown eyes met mine. “Yeah. I overheard you telling Grandmama that you wanted to read it, so I checked it out from the library.”

He checked out a book. Just for me! The thought made me giddy.

“Do you know why I wanted to read it?” Hendrix shook his head as I clutched the book tightly in my hands “It was my mother’s favorite.” Hendrix watched me, his eyes glued to mine. “Daddy told me that she probably read it a dozen times.” I smiled to myself. “He also said she cried every time.”

“Just like you do.”

Confused, I lifted my brows. “What?”

Hendrix licked his lower lip and sat up straight. “Doesn’t matter how many times you read a book, you still laugh and cry.”

“I do?”

He nodded and chuckled. “You do.”

I dipped my head forward and plucked at the blanket beneath me. “I guess that’s something we have in common then. I just wish—”

Hendrix wrapped a strand of my hair around his finger and pulled. Smiling at me, he whispered, “I know, baby. I wish I could’ve met her too.” He spoke the words that were too hard for me to say. Hendrix and I had always had this weird ability where we knew what the other was thinking. Words weren’t always needed between us. He grabbed another thick strand. “I would’ve liked to thank her for giving birth to you.”

A cool breeze danced across my skin, and I shivered. “Yeah, she gave birth to me alright.”

And by giving me life, my mother had lost hers.

She’d only been thirty-five weeks pregnant when she started getting bad headaches. Grandmama said she’d brought it up to her doctor, but he didn’t seem alarmed by it. He blamed it on caffeine withdrawals since Mama had quit drinking coffee the moment she found out she was pregnant. Anyway, one night she got a headache so bad she decided to go to bed early. Daddy was busy watching the end of a baseball game, so he didn’t go with her. It wasn’t until an hour or so later that he went upstairs and found her lying face down on the floor, barely breathing.

Grandmama called 911 while Daddy tried his best to help her, but it was already too late. She’d suffered a seizure due to undiagnosed toxemia and was barely hanging on.

At the hospital, they performed an emergency C-section and, by some miracle, had been able to save me. Mama wasn’t so lucky though. She never regained consciousness and died within eight hours of me being born.

She didn’t even get to hold me.

My heart broke just thinking about it.

“I know it sounds stupid but I thought reading this book would make me feel closer to her.”

Hendrix kissed my temple, and my belly jumped. “Doesn’t sound stupid at all, pretty girl. Gotta admit I’m kinda looking forward to hearing what it’s all about. The librarian couldn’t stop talking about it. Said it was a classic and heartbreakingly beautiful. Whatever the hell that means.”

I smiled. I loved that he wanted to experience things like this with me. “Well then, I guess we better get started.”  

Grabbing a pillow, I flattened my body on the blanket. Hendrix was on his back beside me. His body heat bathed my side and shoulder in warmth as he moved next to me. Rolling to his side so that his chest was pressed to my left shoulder, he pulled the extra blanket over both our legs and tucked it under my right hip.

I giggled as the back of his hands brushed against my ribs. Hendrix looked down at me; his eyes lit with happiness. “What are you laughing at?”

I smacked his chest with the book. “That tickled!”

Furrowing his brow, he plastered a confused look on his face. “What tickled?” His hand moved as he grazed my side again. “This?”

I laughed and flinched away from him. “Yes! Now stop it.”

Pulling his hand away, he flopped onto his back. “I swear I could listen to that sound all night.”

“My laughter?”

He nodded. “Yeah. It’s one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard.”

“I love that you love it.”

Hendrix looked at me, his eyes swimming with an emotion I couldn’t read. “Good,” he ran a finger down my cheek, “then I’ll make it my mission to make you laugh every day for the rest of our lives.”

“Every day for the rest of our lives, huh?”

“Every single damn day.”

“You plan on keeping me that long?”

“I plan on keeping you forever, pretty girl.”

I softly elbowed him in the stomach. “Forever ever?”

He sat up, pulling me into his lap. Wrapping his long arms around me, he pressed his forehead against mine. “Until my dying breath.”

Be still my heart. “Yeah?” I clutched his T-shirt in my hands. “And why is that?”

“Because I love you. Because you’re mine.”

Because I love you…

Because you’re mine…

My heart almost burst in my chest.

Tears spilled down my cheeks. “You love me?”

“I always have.” I couldn’t speak. Hendrix smiled and cupped my jaw with his hand. His touch was delicate. “And don’t feel like you have to say it back just because I said it first. Whenever you get to that point, Maddie, I’ll be waiting.”

Get to that point… If he only knew…

“Crazy boy,” I said, turning to straddle his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck, “you have no clue, do you?” Silence surrounded us. “Hendrix, I’ve loved you ever since I was in the third grade and you punched Ty Jacobs in the face for stealing my lunch money.”

Hendrix groaned as his lips crashed into mine.

For the second time in my life, Hendrix Cole lit up my world with a simple kiss.

Sparks flew.

I leaned into the kiss—into him—and took everything he was willing to give.

His arms tightened around my waist, and his palms rested on my lower back. I ran my hands over his face and into his hair, knocking off the faded grey ball cap that he always wore.

I needed to get closer.

Hendrix’s fingertips trailed a path from my back to the front of my belly. One long, calloused finger slipped under the hem of my shirt, quickly followed by another.

My nerve endings blazed as my skin quivered beneath his heated touch.

His fingers crept higher until his entire hand slipped below my shirt. My mind screamed while my insides flipped. The touch was so small and yet, so big.

I pulled my lips from his. “Hendrix,” I gasped as his fingers drew imaginary lines on the bottom of my lacy bra. I wanted it but… “I’m not ready. Not for … that.”

His movements ceased.

Breathing heavily, he kissed first my chin and then my throat. “It’s okay, pretty girl. I won’t push you to do anything you aren’t ready for.”

I exhaled as his fingers slipped out from under my shirt.

As much as I wished I was, I simply wasn’t ready to take the next step.

Not yet.

“Thank you.”

Pulling back, Hendrix licked his lips. His eyes were hooded and his irises appeared darker than normal. “For what?”

“For not pushing me. For waiting. For always listening when I ask you to stop… For everything.”

Clutching my hands in his, he entwined our fingers together. “We’ve got the rest of our lives, Maddie.” Lifting my right hand, he kissed and nipped my knuckles with his teeth. Once. Twice. “I’ll wait until the end of time if I have to.”

This guy… “I love you so much.”

He closed his eyes and inhaled. “Say it again,” he demanded, his voice strained. “Please, Maddie, say it again.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice. “I love you, handsome. From here until the end of time, I love you.”

Chest to chest and with the tip of his nose touching mine, he then whispered the sweetest words I’d ever heard. “I love you too, Maddie. I always have and I always will.”

My heart melted.

My soul sang.

“Promise?”

“I swear it.”

“Good ’cause I plan on keeping you.”

He smiled, his eyes lighting up like sparklers on the fourth of July. “That’s good, baby.” His lips touched my chin. “’Cause I’m never letting you go.”