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“Why’s that?”
Because today, he would finally find out how much she trusted him. Today, if all went well, they’d take a big step forward. “You’ll see.”
Just being near her brought a big smile to his face, but he wanted more. He wanted to slam on the brakes and pull her onto his lap, crush her mouth beneath his, and swallow every kitten-soft moan. He wanted to imprint his mouth on hers. He wanted to kiss her so senseless she forgot Seth Cooper existed.
He knew the shithead had come back for Hammer’s sake, but Beck worried Seth intended to stay. Damn it, he was on the cusp of making Heavenly his. He didn’t need the PI returning like a bad case of herpes.
“But I have to admit I’ve been looking forward to staring at your sexy ass while we hike up the mountain.”
She looked surprised for a moment, then sent him a flirty smile. “Have you?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“So you’re taking me hiking? That’s the surprise? I’ve never been.”
“I’ve got something even more fun planned. We’re just hiking until we get there.” And Beck would bet she’d never done what he had in store for her.
“What is it?”
Because he couldn’t stop himself, he leaned in and inhaled her scent. “I’m not telling. Patience, little girl.”
“I haven’t asked in ten whole minutes.”
“And that’s five minutes longer than the time before, but anticipation is still rolling off you. By the way, you’re flirting with me.”
She sent him a ball-churning glance from beneath her lashes. “Do you mind?”
“Not one bit.”
Had she flirted with Seth, too? Wondering drove him batshit crazy.
Gripping the wheel tighter, Beck tried not to dwell on the competition, but he knew Heavenly had seen the bastard yesterday. He’d pulled Raine aside this morning when everyone gathered to figure out how the hell to keep Hammer out of prison now that he’d been arrested…and gotten some scoop about Heavenly’s reunion with Seth. When the raven-haired vixen admitted she’d actually invited the East Coast cock-hole over to see Heavenly, he’d called her a Judas. Not surprisingly, she’d rolled her eyes and assured him that she was an equal-opportunity matchmaker. Sneaky little wench…
Beck still wasn’t sure if Heavenly had welcomed the silver-tongued bastard back into her life or told him to go pound sand. He had only one way to find out…
“So I guess Seth is back in town.”
She nodded. “We talked yesterday.”
“You were pretty upset when he left last December. Did you…” fucking kiss and make up? “Work everything out?”
She withdrew her hand and looked away. “Yes.”
Beck gnashed his teeth as he pulled into the parking lot, came to a stop, and killed the engine. “Will you date him again?”
“He wants me to.”
Of course he does. Horny fucker… “What do you want?”
Heavenly didn’t answer him for what felt like a year. “I said yes. He’s promised me time to figure out how I feel and…”
When she bit her lip anxiously, Beck knew what she hesitated to say. “Who you want?”
She nodded. “Are you mad? Maybe you’re not. I know you consider us friends—”
“We’re more than friends, little girl. Let’s get that straight right now.”
“Oh.” The soft flush stole across her cheeks again. “I wasn’t sure. I thought I’d been too forward when I asked you to kiss me—”
“I only said no because I wanted our first kiss to be special. If I’d touched you then, I would have tossed you to the ground, climbed on top of you, and not given two shits about the hordes of kids watching.”
Heavenly jerked her stare to him, all wide-eyed. “You would not.”
“Wanna bet?”
“I haven’t been sure what to think since you said no. Then our date at the gallery seemed so sexual, but you didn’t touch me. And I haven’t seen you much since, so I wasn’t sure if…”
“I wanted you? I do. More than air.”
“Oh.” A smile crept slowly up her face. “Oh.”
“I’ve tried to hold back so I didn’t scare you.”
She tilted her chin and frowned. “I don’t think you could.”
His deep laugh filled the car. “Oh, I’m the man your mother warned you about.”
Her face closed up. “My mother never warned me about anything. I haven’t seen her in eight years.”
That might be the most personal thing she’d ever shared with him. Beck wanted to ask a thousand questions, but he’d probably have to answer a thousand in turn. Besides, talking family got them off topic.
“I’m sorry. Mine wasn’t around much, either. My point is, I tried to move at your pace, but if I’ve misjudged it, I’ll be more than happy to speed things up.” He flashed her a devilish grin.
“M-maybe a little.” Then that furrow appeared between her brows again. “But if I want to date him, too, will you stop seeing me?”
Was that why Seth had taken off, because he couldn’t handle the competition? Yeah. Why else would he promise her time now to figure it out?
