Page 28

There was a tiny bookstore, a barbershop, and a single café called Jane’s Diner with an OPEN sign hanging from a chain on the inside of the door.

I drove half a mile more and finally turned down the gravel drive of Daniel’s rental property. A sign I hadn’t seen the last time was illuminated on the corner. The Grant House, 1897. The same year Royaume Northwestern was built, I noted.

Daniel was waiting outside—holding the baby goat.

My heart leaped the second I saw him.

I didn’t know how I was going to feel seeing him again—if it would be awkward or whatever had attracted me to him might be gone. But the moment I laid eyes on him standing there, my pulse zinged.

He was even handsomer than the last time—maybe because he had warning? He was wearing jeans and a black Jaxon Waters T-shirt with a loon on the front, a thick brown leather bracelet on his wrist. His hair seemed more styled. Sort of coifed up. He looked like he’d gotten ready.

It was funny that Daniel’s version of getting ready was a level of dressed down that I’d never seen on Neil. But it fit him. And God, was it attractive.

Daniel had that lithe, toned body type. Not a bit of fat on him, but he was muscular enough for it to not look lanky on his tall frame. I remembered he had broad shoulders sprinkled with freckles. Every time he’d lifted me, his abs had crunched like an accordion…

My face flushed thinking about it.

I parked. As I got out, Daniel came up to the car door to meet me.

The dog bounded between us, tail wiggling back and forth. He stopped in the middle of his excited greeting and let out a long roooooooooo!

Then he jumped on me.

I caught him with an oomph, staggering back.

“Hunter, down!” Daniel pulled him off me with his free hand, still cradling Chloe. “Sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay. I came dressed for it this time.” I smiled at the kid. “You’re really milking this, aren’t you?”

“I know what I have.” Then he leaned in and kissed me.

It was sort of surprising. I mean, I was here for this, so I expected kissing at some point. But the sensual kiss as a greeting made this feel oddly familiar. Like I’d been here a dozen times and was just coming back again.

Chloe was pressed between us, and she began nibbling on my shirt button. I started laughing, and Daniel smiled against my lips. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

He leaned away from me. “Let me put her away. Hunter.” He eyed his dog, who was sitting obediently at my feet. “No jumping. We talked about this.” He made the fingers to the eyes motion like he was watching him and then headed to the back of the garage.

I smiled after him and grabbed my overnight bag from the passenger seat.

When he came back, I was peering up at the house.

It had been dark the last time I’d been here, so I hadn’t gotten a good look at the place. It was getting dark now too, but the up-lighting on the house was on this time and I could see it was a gorgeous Victorian, green with white trim. It had a wraparound porch, a swing, rocking chairs, and red geraniums hanging from flower boxes over the banisters. There was a historic landmark plaque by the front door with the same year as the sign in the driveway.

“This is beautiful,” I breathed.

“It’s been in my family for six generations,” he said, taking my bag for me.

“You didn’t want to live in it?” I asked, walking with him to the steps.

“I can’t afford to live in it,” he said.

He didn’t seem embarrassed by the question, but I kicked myself for asking it anyway.

It was like I’d forgotten that not everyone can just casually live in mansions. It was a disconnected Let Them Eat Cake moment, and it was the first time since I called him that I thought maybe I’d made a mistake coming here. I was so different from him that I didn’t even know how to not carelessly insult him. I was afraid I was going to accidentally do it again.

I still was internally beating myself up for this when he let us into the house.