I exaggerate a gasp as I collapse beside her, nudging an elbow into her ribs. “Thought you’d be happy for me. Getting signed with The Rhett Taylor Band, and at 19, no less, is a huge deal.” And that’s putting it mildly. In recent months, they’ve taken country music by storm. I knew she’d be upset that I’d have to leave, but she must see what an incredible opportunity this is for me.

“Yeah? Well, you thought wrong.” Not only is she not excited—she’s pissed.

I snort, tilting her face up so her eyes meet mine. “That’s a childish thing to say, Li’l Bit.”

Her throat bobs on a hard swallow. “Well, at sixteen, you love to remind me I’m nothing more than a child.” She clears a bit of emotion from her throat and rasps the nickname I coined for her four years ago, “Jailbait.”

“Don’t put words into my mouth, Sam. And never assume where we’re concerned. You’re so much more to me than just a kid, and you know it.”

“Do I?”

I give her a hard look. “You damn well better. Every minute I’ve spent beneath this dock with you, I’ve risked everything. My reputation. My best friend. And a fucking felony charge.”

Teeth clenched, her jaw warbles. “I just…I don’t want you to go.”

Without thought, I kiss away the plump tear that spills from her right eye. “Los Angeles isn’t more than an hour’s drive from here. It’ll be like I never even left.”

She stares up at me, eyes wide with shock. “You…you kissed me.” Sammi brings the fingers of one hand to rest on her cheek.

“I shouldn’t have done that. It was nothing,” I lie, actively denying the tingle I still feel in my lips. The heat coursing through my veins. The aching mass of dread forming in my throat.

“Why do you always do this?” she says with a sob.

“Don’t cry, Li’l Bit.” I scrub a hand over my face. “Not because of me. I can’t bear it.”

“Stop pushing me away.”

The moonlight makes her appear ethereal. She’s so damned beautiful it hurts to look at her. Because I know, no matter how badly I want to run my tongue over every inch of her creamy skin… To taste her lips… To drown in her scent… To give in to the temptation that’s plagued me for far longer than is decent… I can’t. Not yet.

“Only a few more years…”

She pulls her lower lip between her teeth and nods in defeat.

“Hey,” I say, moving to crouch in front of her. “Maybe with me out of the way, you might actually be ready to date a few boys your own age.”