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“Hmm?” I squeak.
“I haven’t been honest with you. I’ve been … cheating, in a way. And that ends now.”
I inhale sharply. “What?”
He pulls up at the one traffic light in town and turns to me. “The only thing I’ve faked is being okay with our arrangement. These past few months have been the best, and I’ve enjoyed every second of being your boyfriend, even if you were only pretending. It all felt very real to me.”
“It did?”
“Yes,” he replies, swallowing hard. “And I don’t want to pretend anymore.”
The light turns green, but he doesn’t move.
“What does that mean?” I ask quietly.
“It means I’m done lying about us. I want the chance to prove I’m worth the risk, to show you how great we could be together. I’m open to whatever level of commitment you want, and I promise not to pressure you into anything physical.” He pauses for a second before he adds, “I’m yours, Loren, whether you want me or not. But I really want to call you mine, too.”
He squeezes my hand and brings it up to his mouth for a kiss, and I let out a shaky exhale.
“Okay,” I breathe. After today’s turn of events, I don’t know how to keep acting like I don’t want him, regardless of my fears.
His eyes meet mine. “Yeah?”
I nod. “I’m all yours, Blake. Just promise you’ll be patient with me, okay?”
He leans over and cups my face before he brings his lips to mine for the sweetest kiss I’ve ever had.
“I promise.”
CHAPTER 33
Loren
“Hey,”I greet Blake from my favorite reading spot in the corner of the sectional. I’m not sure whether it’s a result of being stuck at home all day without adult interaction or the fact that I’m genuinely this happy to see him, but there’s a flurry of butterflies in my stomach.
“Hi, babe,” he returns, coming over to give me a short kiss, and I’m tempted to latch onto his tie and hold him there a bit longer.
Between our accidental midnight make-out session in the kitchen and the declarations he made during our meeting with Father Conrad, things have been growing increasingly tense between us over the past few weeks—but like, the sexy kind of tense. It’s the type of tension that results from a combination of pelvic rest and a crazy gorgeous and incredibly witty boyfriend doing and saying all the right things while he walks around the house looking like a total snack. And that’s not including the way he’s been openly declaring his feelings for me since we agreed to date for real.
I’m still glad we’re taking things slow. But when I’d asked Blake to be patient with me, I sure as heck didn’t think I’d be the one exercising all the patience.
I allow my eyes to run over his profile again, noting the sharp perfection of his jawline beneath the short beard he’s started keeping. I wonder for a second whether he’d let me slather him in peanut butter and …
Nope. No, ma’am. Not going there.
But I’m so hungry. And I like snacks.
I clear my throat. “How was your day?”
“Good, court just ran long,” he says after a while, turning to shoot me an exhausted smile. “How are you?”
“I’m still pregnant, so that’s a loaded question.”
He laughs and scrapes his fingertips over his cheek, making a rustling sound, and I don’t miss the way his shirt sleeves are rolled up to expose his forearms.
“Hungry yet?” he asks, sitting down beside me.
“Mm-hmm,” I return, trying to keep my thoughts from veering off into dangerous territory again. “Always.”
