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“For tonight. After our weekend together, you still came to dinner with my dad and sat here with me while I talked through everything. You didn’t push for anything more.” She smiled gently. “You knew I needed that. I appreciate it.”

“Alesha,” he said, brushing his fingers along her cheek again, “you never have to thank me.”

He kissed the tip of her nose.

“The weekend was incredible. And…I want you; you know that. But more than that, I care about you. Whatever you need from me…that’s what I want to give.”

She leaned back slightly, studying him with a puzzled expression. “How are you still single?”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re almost too good to be true. I’ve never met a man this considerate before. I’m half afraid I’m going to wake up and realize this has all been a dream.”

Reece shook his head. “Not a dream,” he said softly. “But to me…it feels like one.” He kissed her forehead because he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “We’ve spent a little more than a week together, and I feel like the luckiest man alive that you came back into my life.”

“Reece…”

He ducked his head slightly, suddenly self-conscious. “We were just kids back then. We didn’t understand what we were feeling—we just knew we enjoyed being friends.” He looked back at her. “But when I saw you again…it just felt right. Like everything made sense.” Another pause. “It was a little like…I had been waiting for you to come back and there you were.”

“I felt it too,” she said quickly.

Then she slid off his lap and laughed nervously.

“How is that even possible? It’s so fast. Shouldn’t it take more than one look to feel this strongly? Are we just romanticizing the past?”

“We were a little young to think of it like that back then,” he said.

“Maybe,” she admitted. “But whenever I thought about you while I was growing up, it was always with a sense of awe. You were my hero.”

He understood exactly what she meant. Every memory he had of her carried that same sense of wonder.

Reaching out, he brushed his fingers along her cheek again. “If you think we’re moving too fast, we can slow down,” he said gently. “I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

He leaned in and kissed her again—a quick, soft kiss—but Alesha immediately wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. When they pulled apart, she smiled shyly.

“I don’t think we’re moving too fast. I don’t want to slow down, and I definitely don’t feel pressured.”

He swallowed. “Then how do you feel?”

She laughed softly. “Honestly? I regret that we’re sitting in my dad’s living room instead of somewhere a little more private.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“I wish we were at your place or back at the resort,” she continued, blushing. “So we could turn down the lights, crawl into bed, and spend the night making love.” She covered her face briefly. “Wow…that was forward. Sorry.”

“You never have to apologize,” he said quietly.

But he loved how they were on the same page.

He took a steady breath. “Dinner at my place tomorrow night,” he said. “We’ll get takeout, decorate my Christmas tree, and when we’re done…we’ll turn down the lights and crawl into bed.”

Her smile spread slowly. “Mmm. A man with a plan. I like it.”

seven

A week later, Alesha was upstairs in the loft, minding her own business, when an older woman came up the stairs with a book in her hand. She smiled the moment she spotted her.

“Oh! You must be Martin’s daughter!”