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Personally, I didn’t mind just sitting here watching him work with such precision. I never felt like I had to be “on” when I was with Connor. I never needed to fill any silence or second-guess myself like I did so frequently these days with other people. Connor made me feel safe to just be. It was something about his demeanor and the way he also seemed relaxed as soon as he walked in my door.
As he moved around my kitchen with ease, I started to get curious. “Did your grandma teach you this recipe or your mom?”
He laughed a full belly laugh that made a smile pull at my cheeks. “My mom can’t cook to save her life. Thanks to my dad’s money, she was always able to hire help. My grandma taught me one summer when I stayed with her.”
“Why did you stay with her? How old were you?”
I had a million questions. This was the most he’d told me about his past. Neither of us tended to talk much about that, but there were little things about his personality and character that I’d learned over the last couple of weeks that made me want to know everything about him.
He glanced up at me before focusing back on the dish. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and I wondered if he was going to pretend I’d never asked. Disappointment started to filter through the contentment I’d been feeling when he cleared his throat.
“My parents’ divorce was nasty, so they shipped me off to my only other living relative. I spent that summer in Oklahoma with my grandma. The divorce was just an excuse that time since they usually shipped me off to her at some point throughout the year. Whenever they were too busy, which was pretty much any time I wasn’t in school.” He smiled at me, but it belied the weight of the memory that was clear in his eyes. “I think my grandma only taught me so I wouldn’t get into trouble since I’d just turned twelve and discovered girls did not in fact have cooties.”
I laughed at that. I could absolutely see him as a cute twelve-year-old boy flirting with every girl and woman he met.
Since he was opening up, I decided to push my luck and ask him something else I was curious about—although it was hard to pick only one thing.
“What do you do for fun?” Since I’d met him, he’d spent pretty much all his free time with me.
He shrugged. “Work out. Fuck you,” he said with a saucy smile that made me roll my eyes.
“I’m serious,” I said.
He waggled his eyebrows. “So am I.”
“I don’t really know anything about you.”
He hummed but didn’t really respond as he finished making the pot pie and then put it in the oven. When he closed the oven door, he walked over to me, fitting his body in between my legs and placing his hands on either side of my hips. His dark gaze held me captive, and I wished I knew every thought that went through his head.
“You know the things that matter,” he said, his voice low.
I frowned. I didn’t think that was true. Our past mattered—the things that made us the people we were—and I could no longer deny that I was curious about his.
He leaned closer. “You know that I will always show up when you call.” He leaned to the side, pressing a kiss to my neck. “You know I will always make you come first.” He moved to the other side, kissing me there too. “You know you’ll never starve when I’m around—for food or orgasms.” He kissed my lips. “Youknowwho I am. All the other stuff is just extra.”
The other stuff was important to me. I tried to hide my disappointment, but I knew I wasn’t succeeding when he grabbed my hands and pulled me off the counter. He surprised me when he pulled me into his arms, wrapping one arm around my lower back while the other held my hand. His gaze remained on mine as he started moving us around the kitchen, gently swaying our bodies to the soft music playing from his phone.
My body softened against him, and I let our movements wash away my frustration that he never seemed to let me in. We danced like that through the end of the next song, and then a classic from old middle school dances came on and we both burst into laughter. He spun me in circles in my kitchen while we waited for dinner to cook and when it was done, I set the table while he set his masterpiece in the center.
We sat next to each other and he watched me take my first bite. He arched a brow, waiting for my reaction, and I hated to do it but there was no way I could lie.
“Okay, you win. This is the best chicken pot pie I’ve ever had.”
His smile grew, and for a second it was hard to breathe. This man was so dangerous to my heart because watching his face light up made me want to watch it happen every night.
TIES SHOULD ONLY BE WORN AROUND YOUR NECK
CONNOR
“You were out late.”
I looked up from where I was sitting on Grant’s couch, drinking coffee while I scrolled mindlessly on my phone.
“Didn’t realize I had a curfew, Mom.”
Grant shook his head. “Fucker,” he mumbled. “So, who is she?”
“Who are you talking about?” I asked, looking back down at my phone and pretending like I had no idea what he was referring to.
