“I told you already. I came to get you. I came to bring you home.”

Why was he doing this?

“I can’t go with you, James. I’m not ready to face them. I need more time to figure out a plan.”

He moved next to me on the couch. His hand reached for my thigh, his thumb drawing lazy circles on it. “Julia, I want to be with you. And not just for a week or a month or a year. I’m in this with you for the long haul. The forever kind if we’re as good together as a couple as I think we will be. With that being said, I’m here to hold your hand. To stand by your side and go either force your dad to listen to reason or to help you walk away from him and decide what your next move is. It’s entirely up to you, but whatever you decide, I’m doing it with you.”

“You’d do all that for me?”

My eyes started to tear up, and James pressed his forehead against mine.

“I’d do anything for you,” he breathed out, and I knew he meant it.

“My dad will probably shoot us both on the spot,” I said, trying to be funny, but even I wasn’t sure how untrue that statement was.

“He won’t,” James tried to reassure me.

He sounded so convincing, so sure of himself, but I couldn’t believe it.

“How do you know that?” I asked.

James pulled back, his hand now on my cheek as his blue eyes stared a hole right through me. He moved slowly forward, his lips pressing against mine, and I didn’t fall into the kiss. I dived in, headfirst, with every part of me. His tongue brushed my lip before touching my own, and chills raced through my body. I forgot who I was, who James was, and what we were supposed to be as our mouths opened and closed in unison, the heat between us growing like a wildfire. When James broke the kiss, a small whimper escaped me, and I looked at him, half-mortified at my desire for him, but he smiled, his face completely flushed.

“Do you trust me, babe?” It was a loaded question, and he knew it. It was also the first time he’d called me any endearing name, and my heart danced inside my chest in response to hearing it. It liked the nickname.

The answer came to me without thinking. It wasn’t something I needed to contemplate even though, if he had asked me a month ago, I would have said the exact opposite, convinced that trusting him would be something I could never do.

“Yes,” I said.

And his face lit up like I’d just promised him all of my future wine recipes and the south side vines.

THAT DAMN BET

James