“And what about you?” He dared the question. So afraid, he realized too late, of her answer. She’d been married to Ricky for eight years. They’d been split up in a devastatingly unfair way. Her opening up to him in the ways she had in the past few weeks had been so unexpected. It had been a delicate topic he’d been too afraid to examine out loud with her.
Her fingers drew circles on his neck, twirling in his hair while she gazed at him. “Eleven months ago, I didn’t think happiness would ever exist for me again. But your friendship gave me hope that it was a possibility. Your love gave me the freedom to dream again. You did that.”
“Nah, you did that. It was all you, Kels.” Her name rolled off his tongue easily.
“C’mon, at least take some of the credit, while I’m giving it to you,” she bantered.
“I mean, I’ll take it. Some of it,” he corrected. “But you make it easy to love you.”
She blinked at him. “You love me?”
“I’ve loved you since you forced yourself into my life and demanded a friendship with me,” he teased.
Her eyes closed and her chin dipped. “Oh, right.”
With a finger underneath her chin, he raised it, willing her to look at him. She opened her glossy eyes.
“But now I love you in a new, unique way that I never thought I’d be lucky enough to. This time, instead of forcing yourself, you’ve welcomed me into this new, intimate part of your life and I’m just soaking it up and trying to savor it. I’m definitely not worthy, but regardless, I love every part of you.”
Kelsey’s eyes watered even more so and she gripped his neck, drawing his face close to hers. “Damn it, Davis, you know I hate being vulnerable. It makes me feel so exposed.”
He shrugged a shoulder, his hand gliding against the smooth curve of her lower back. “I mean, you are naked.”
She snorted a laugh before saying, “So help me God, I love you, Davis Vance.”
The previously building pressure in his chest released, and he kissed her smiling lips. He clutched her around the back and in one swift motion, rolled her on top of him. With her warm body pressing against him, he could think of nothing else other than showing her exactly how much he loved her. Again and again. He’d spend the entire day trying to convince her if that’s what it took.
The vibrating of his phone as it skittered across his nightstand sounded distant and he tried to block it out while he spread languid kisses down Kelsey’s neck. She writhed on top of him and he felt like he’d won the lottery with this woman. How had he gotten so lucky?
But the damn phone vibrated again. She pushed herself up, straddling him. He gazed at her, fully exposed, breasts on display, and he wanted to stare at this view all day.
“Make the buzzing stop,” she groaned, stretching across him and reaching for his phone.
This position of hers was so achingly perfect and tempting, he snatched her up in his arms.
She giggled and handed him the phone. “It’s Garrett. Sounds urgent.”
“Oh, crap.” He took the phone and read the missed texts from Garrett. They were shooting today. He’d completely forgotten. And he was already an hour late.
Not only had he missed Garrett’s texts, but his producers as well.
“What is it?” she asked, stroking a teasing finger down his chest.
As much as he didn’t want to make her stop, he had to. “I forgot about the shoot today.”
“Are you serious?” She smacked him in the gut.
“Hey! What happened to the loving touches?”
Climbing off him, she groaned. “You forgot they were filming? Like for your show? Your last show of the season?”
“Yeah.” He scooted to the edge of the bed and threw his legs over.
She picked up her pile of clothing from the chair in the corner of his room. “How do you forget something that important?”
“Believe me, you’ve been quite distracting this morning. Do you know what you look like?” he teased.
She crumpled his t-shirt and tossed at him. “Whatever. But if we’re going to do this, like have a real relationship, we need to tell each other things. Maybe we should share calendars or something?”
