Page 122 of On His Team

That gets her attention.

She leans back enough to look at me properly. “How much?”

“A couple hours.”

Her eyebrows go up. “Before somebody comes back?”

“Yeah.”

She looks toward the empty living room, then back at me.

A smile starts. “You really did plan this.”

“The only thing I did was give Blue movie tickets.”

“You gave Blue movie tickets because you wanted him gone.”

I don’t answer.

Gianna’s smile gets wider. “Oh my God.”

“What?”

“You did.”

I kiss her before she can keep talking. She laughs into my mouth and wraps both arms around my neck. The kiss gets heavier quickly.

Yesterday had been different. Every sound downstairs mattered. Every step in the hallway mattered. Even when I had Gianna on my lap, part of my attention stayed on the door.

Tonight there’s nothing dividing my attention.

I can feel exactly what she does when I touch her.

My hands move from her waist over her hips. She comes closer instead of pulling away. I kiss beneath her jaw, and her fingers tighten at the back of my neck. When I find the spot below her ear that made her go quiet yesterday, her entire body reacts before she can pretend it didn’t.

Her head tips back. Then she immediately says, “Don’t.”

I smile against her skin. “Don’t what?”

“You know.”

“I don’t.”

“That.”

“What?”

She pushes at my shoulder until I look at her. I kiss her again. Her hands slide beneath the bottom of my shirt, palms warm against my sides, and that takes enough of my attention that I don’t realize she’s gone quiet until she pulls back.

“Wait.”

“What?”

Her expression changes.

I know that look.

“Remember when you told me I don’t make you nervous?”