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He glanced up at her, and there was an intensity to his gaze that she didn’t understand. “Thanks, Shayna.”
“So enough about us,” Reuben said, grinning at her as she sat down again. “How was your first day at work?”
The question had her grinning, too. “It was really good,” she said. “I mean, it was all about getting oriented, of course, but just walking the halls of one of the biggest newspapers in the country and knowing I’m now a part of it was surreal. As a new staff photographer, I’ll get assigned to community-interest stories at first, which I think will be a great way to get to know the city.”
“That sounds exciting, young lady. Good for you.”
“And I get my press credentials tomorrow, which is going to make it all feel real.”
Reuben chuckled. “You’re about to bounce right out of that seat.”
Billy polished off his chicken and gave her a smile. “You really are.”
Shayna laughed. “I know, I can’t help it.”
Shaking his head, Billy’s expression was almost proud as he looked at her. “You don’t have to help it. Don’t change a thing about it. You’ll bring that enthusiasm to every story you’re a part of and people will see it through your work.”
She nodded, moved because that had been such an incredibly sweet thing to say. “I hope I can do just that.” Shay cleared her throat, suddenly uncomfortable with all the focus being on her. “Who wants seconds?”
Reuben waved a hand over his empty plate as Billy polished off the last of his dinner. “It was fantastic, but I’m stuffed,” their neighbor said. He peered upward at the darkening sky. “And I suppose I should be getting back. My oldest daughter usually calls me around eight o’clock to check in on her old man.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” Shayna said. “Let me pack you some leftovers to take home.”
“No, no,” Reuben said, rising with the help of the table and his cane. “That’s not necessary. This beautiful meal and even better company was all I need.”
“Any time,” she said, as she and Billy followed the man inside. At the front door, he gave them both a wave. “Take care now.”
“Bye,” Shayna said, watching at the door for several long minutes until she saw him turn into his own yard, then she closed the door. “He’s such a nice man.”
Suddenly, she felt heat at her back. The hair rose up all down her neck and she nearly shivered.
“And you’re an incredibly nice woman,” came Billy’s voice in her ear. It took everything she had to resist leaning back against him, even though the pull to do so was beyond anything she’d ever felt in her life.
Did she feel this way because she’d had a crush on him when she was younger? Because he’d once seemed so unattainable and now, just maybe, he wasn’t?
“Befriending Reuben, making such a great dinner…” His words trailed off, though she had the strongest feeling that something more hung on the end of his tongue.
Shayna really wanted to know what it was.
She turned, bringing them chest to chest. He was so close that she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. “I just wanted to do something a little special after I’d had such a good day.”
He nodded, staring at her with a red-hot intensity that made her heart beat faster. “Special.” His gaze swept over her face. “Definitely.” Billy swallowed hard, and the tortured sound of it combined with his words and that look shot need throughout her veins.
Need of the I-want-this-man kind.
“I’m sorry I didn’t return your text,” he said. “I wasn’t sure how the end of my day was going to go.”
“It’s okay—”
“No.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have ignored it. It’s just…you…do you…” He pressed his lips into a tight line and made a noise deep in his throat.
Both of which drew her gaze to his mouth. She wasn’t sure what was happening here, or what he was trying to say, but she knew what she wanted to happen.
Suddenly she was dying for it. To feel him. To touch him. To kiss him.
She’d been rocking those feelings since the intense conversation they’d had at the breakfast bar. She still wasn’t sure how she’d held back from hugging him after all he’d shared with her. Now, she couldn’t hold back. And didn’t want to.
Shayna put her hands on his chest.
