Jameson Bodine was kissing me.

No, not just kissing me. Melting me. Making my knees weak and my legs tremble. I couldn’t think. Could barely breathe. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better—that this moment had come to the brink of perfection—he parted my lips with his tongue and took the kiss deeper.

The caress of his velvety tongue felt like magic, and sparks danced across my skin. I had no idea what was happening around me. It was as if nothing had existed before this—before Jameson’s mind-numbing kiss.

I wound my arms around his shoulders and pressed myself against him. Kissed him back with everything I had.

Gradually, he took the kiss from deep to shallow. The slow dance of our tongues became light kisses against soft lips. His fingers caressed my cheek and his strong arm held me tight.

Our mouths separated, but we stayed close, our noses brushing together.

“I thought you were gone,” he said, his voice quiet.

“I came back.”

He surged in, kissing me again, and my hat fell off behind me.

“Leah Mae, I don’t know what happened or why you’re back,” he said, caressing my cheek again. “But I have something very important that I need to talk to you about.”

“What the hell, Bodine?” a voice called from the street. “Move your damn truck.”

Jameson cracked a smile and called over his shoulder, “Hold on a second.” He turned back to me and ran his thumb across my lips, his touch making me tremble. “Will you come with me?”

I tried to say yes, but my voice wouldn’t come, so I just nodded.

He clasped my hand in his and led me to his truck. It was parked in the middle of the street, still running, the driver’s side door wide open. Vaguely, I was aware of people on the street watching us. But it was hard to think. Jameson had just kissed the hell out of me and my head was spinning.

We got in his truck and he drove the short distance to the beach. It had been raining off and on all day, and clouds still hung low in the sky. The lake looked deserted.

Jameson parked and turned off the engine. He shifted so he was facing me. “God, Leah Mae, I have something to say, but all I want to do right now is kiss you again.”

I practically launched myself at him, and he pulled me onto his lap. Our mouths tangled, wet and insistent. He ran his hands through my hair while his tongue swept past my lips.

With my legs straddling his lap, my dress had hiked up, but—ever the gentleman—Jameson kept his hands in my hair. Kissed me deep and slow. He felt eager, but unhurried. Like every kiss was meant to be enjoyed. Savored.

Rain pattered against the window, a soft serenade. His hands caressed my back and I shifted in his lap. My body was on fire for him, a longing taking hold deep inside. My nipples brushed against his chest, tingling against the thin fabric of my bra. I wanted his hands all over me—his hot skin against mine. I wanted him to forget his gentlemanly manners and rip my clothes off, right here.

He touched my face again, gently, and pulled back so he could look me in the eyes.

“Oh, darlin’,” he said, his voice breathy and low. “I have wanted to kiss you for so damn long.”

“Me too,” I breathed.

His mouth hooked in a grin. I loved it when he smiled.

“I thought you’d be long gone by now,” he said.

“I know,” I said. “I was supposed to be on a plane.”

“What happened?”

“I woke up this morning and I asked myself what I was doing—why I wanted this. I’ve been so focused on where I’m going next, I forgot to ask why I wanted to go there in the first place. I’ve been chasing the dream of a child who didn’t know better—who didn’t know what that dream really looked like. And it’s crazy, because I don’t have a backup plan. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.”

It was true. I’d never felt so adrift. But for the first time in a long time, I felt free.

“Do you mean you’re giving it all up?” he asked. “No more modeling, or acting?”

“Would you think I was crazy if I said yes?”

“Why would I think that?”

“I guess… I know what others would say.” I meant Kelvin, but I didn’t want to say his name. Not here, in this moment. “They’d say I’ve worked too hard to quit now. That this show was just a stepping stone to something bigger and I’d be throwing it all away on a whim.”

Jameson looked deep into my eyes. “Is it a whim?”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t think I can be the person I want to be if I have to play their game. I’ve had to compromise too much of myself already. If I went to L.A. today—if I kept traveling down that same road—I’m not sure who I’d be at the end of it. I don’t know what road I’m going to take now. I just know that one isn’t right.”

“I’m so proud of you,” he said, his brilliant blue eyes still holding mine.

“Thank you.” I nibbled on my bottom lip.

“Listen,” he said, brushing my hair back from my face. “I realize things are up in the air, and you’re not sure where you’re going next. But there’s something important I need to ask you.”

“Okay.”

“Leah Mae, I’m wonderin’ if you’ll be my girl.”

My heart melted inside my chest, pooling into a little puddle of mush. “Your girl?”

“I know, it sounds silly,” he said. “We’re not kids anymore. But imagine we’re sixteen again. You’re here for the summer, stayin’ with your daddy. We’re down by the water and you’re wearin’ that pink and yellow swimsuit. Your hair’s all wet ’cause we’ve been swimming since lunchtime, and the sun kissed freckles all over that sweet little nose of yours.”

“I remember those days.”

He nodded. “I should have done this then, but I didn’t. So I’m doin’ it now. What do you say, darlin’? Stay. Stay and be my girl.”

I leaned my forehead against his. “I will gladly be your girl, Jameson Bodine.”

Our lips came together again, so warm and soft. His kisses felt like magic.

“I was coming to see you,” I said when we pulled away. I didn’t want him to think I’d have let him believe I’d left for L.A. “I wanted to surprise you, and I stopped in town to pick up something sweet to bring with me. And then you pulled up, and well… here we are.”

“Here we are.”

Smiling, I nodded and kissed him again. Kissing was good. I wanted more of that. A lot more. I could tell Jameson did too.

We made out in the front seat of his truck like we were teenagers again. Like it really was that summer when we were sixteen, and none of the last twelve years had happened. We weren’t adults dragging the burdens of baggage and heartbreak. With the stresses of families and careers and hard choices. We were just two kids who were a little bit crazy for each other, kissing in the front seat of a pickup truck on a rainy summer afternoon.

I wished it never had to end.

His mouth tangled up with mine felt better than anything I could remember. I’d certainly been kissed before, but never like this. This was warm summer sunshine and sweet tea all wrapped up in a pleasantly scruffy jaw, soft lips, and very capable strong hands. He touched and caressed me. Kissed away all the questions and uncertainties.

And for that brief moment, everything was perfect.