There was a little voice in my head warning that was going to be a problem in less than a year, when we were no longer married, but for now I told myself we’d always be close friends.

Burying my nose in her hair, breathing in the scent of her, I let go of all the thoughts tugging at my brain and lost myself in the woman in my arms.

Chapter 20

Chloe

It was the last Saturday night in April, and Holden and I were on the way to a bonfire on the beach.

Our one-month anniversary was only a couple of days away. Not that we had anniversary plans. It didn’t really count when your marriage had an end date. Instead of the one-month mark feeling like an accomplishment or something to celebrate, it felt more like a countdown.

Since the fire at the brewery, it had become more difficult to remember our marriage wasn’t real. The way Holden had opened up that night, confessing his insecurities concerning his brothers, changed things. Brought us closer. Before that, I’d seen Holden as carefree and confident—and he was—but now I understood another dimension of him. A hidden layer only I’d been allowed to see. One that resonated deeply with me.

In addition to that new understanding, I’d been waking up with his arms around me every morning. That had started the night of the fire as well. I’d never been a cuddler, had rarely stayed a whole night with a man, and if you’d told me before that I would love being held all night, I would’ve rolled my eyes. But I did love it. At least when it was Holden.

We were blurring the lines further, but I couldn’t make myself be smarter now. Didn’t want him not to hold me while we slept.

We passed Henry’s and then the marina, and that led to the residential area.

Dragonfly Lake had several beaches. There were two on the north side—the public one, known as Dragonfly Beach, and a private one in the middle of the residential lakefront neighborhood where we were heading. It was just down the way from Henry’s Restaurant and reserved for people who lived on Honeysuckle Road and their guests.

The sun was nearly gone from the sky as we walked along the shoulder hand in hand, Holden carrying a mini cooler with our drinks. The closer we got, the easier it was to hear the din of the gathering, and it was obvious there were more than a few people there. I sucked in a breath, trying to talk myself through the nerves.

“You okay?” Holden asked.

“Yeah,” I said on an exhale. I would be okay once we’d been there for a while. I hoped.