Sunshine Kisses

‘I think you always will be, too. You’re forgiven, you big oaf.’ Abby stepped back before she melted into him entirely. She paused, weighing her next words carefully. ‘I love you, even when you’re being an idiot.’

Not an unreasonable concept, best friends loving each other. One that was expected, some might think. They’d said the words frequently growing up. Still signed cards, letters, and emails ‘all my love’. But somewhere around adolescence, when the teasing about them being in love with each other came less from elderly relatives and more from their peers, those three words, said so directly, began to feel loaded.

‘I love you too, Sunshine.’ Erik’s voice was rougher than it had been a moment before, his eyes clouded with the same unreadable expression he’d worn the previous night. It unnerved her, not knowing exactly what he was thinking. ‘You should get ready. Your parents will kill me if we’re late.’

Chapter 9

that way – Tate McRae

A

bby hated golf.

It was boring, and she wasn’t any good at it, which never aided her enjoyment of anything. The only amusement she found was watching Erik pretend to lose to her, as if it wasn’t hopelessly obvious that he was well out of her league. That said, despite his natural inclination towards anything athletic, he couldn’t stand the game either, and she suspected he derived his own fun from his pretense.

She also enjoyed the clothes.

Today’s outfit was a navy golf dress that had been loose when she’d last worn it at eighteen. Now, it skimmed over her curves, cinching in at her waist and stretching over her hips. It made it almost worth traipsing around carrying a bag of sticks.

When they returned to the green after brunch, Abby suggested she stay on the cart, conserving her energy to drive her group between holes. She had a book on her phone to keep herself entertained. Erik merely chuckled and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her effortlessly off the leather seat—who had decided that was a good idea for a pastime traditionally enjoyed in the summer sun?

‘If I have to endure this, so do you,’ he muttered into her ear, breath grazing her neck. The heat brought memories of the night before flooding back. Thoughts of his solid body crowding her in front of her door, chest heaving with ragged breaths. It destroyed her focus enough that even Erik’s best attempts at letting her beat him failed.

‘Distracted, Sunshine?’ he asked with a smirk as they returned to their rooms.

Her tired, sunsoaked brain couldn’t think of a retort, and she took the decidedly more mature response of sticking her tongue out instead. She heard Erik’s laughter echo through his room as she turned on the shower.

Dinner was early, to accommodate their parents’ sunset game of lawn bowls.

‘Are you two sure you don’t want to join us?’ Nora asked as they left the dining room.

Abby exchanged a loaded look with Erik. Barely concealed horror covered his face.

‘Thanks mum, but as it’s no longer the fourteenth century, I think we’ll amuse ourselves.’

Nora frowned at his tone in mock reproach before stretching to kiss her son on the cheek and following the rest of her quartet to the lobby.

Erik slung an arm around Abby’s shoulders, turning her towards him. ‘A whole parent-free evening. What ever shall we do with all this freedom?’ he asked.

The barely touched document on her laptop floated to the front of her mind and Abby sighed, thinking of how little alone time she would get in the next few days.

‘Does it make me tremendously boring if I say I have to work? I have a meeting with my thesis adviser at the end of next week and I’ve made almost no progress.’

‘Want company?’ He began steering her towards the lifts.

Abby smiled brightly. ‘Love some.’

They sat in comfortable silence for the next hour, not unlike the countless times they’d studied and done homework together as kids, books and papers strewn across Erik’s dining room table. Even when their focuses had largely diverged for their A-levels, they’d always preferred to work quietly together, having the other there to hold them accountable.

Abby was propped neatly against her headboard, tapping away on her laptop and flipping between two romance novels. Erik faced her, sprawled against a mound of pillows, reading his Christmas present. Intense focus lined his face. Barely a hundred pages in, a concentrated frown bunched his forehead, and she knew he would be committing every moment to memory.

Since Erik had started travelling, he’d mainly switched to reading on his tablet. But he still insisted on experiencing the action and magic of that particular series through a physical book. Abby had sat through a mind-numbing book launch before queuing for two hours to get his copy signed. It had all suddenly felt worth it for the way Erik’s eyes had lit up when he unwrapped it. The slackening of his jaw as he’d taken in the personalised dedication.

The author had lifted an eyebrow upon reading the name on the sticky note inside the book.

‘Your boyfriend couldn’t make it?’

‘He’s working abroad. And just a friend,’ she said quickly.