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She rolled her eyes. “You know you are, Justin.”
“How would I know that?”
“A mirror?”
He laughed. “I don’t think much about the way I look.”
“Beautiful people usually don’t.”
“I’d argue with that. Some of the most beautiful women I know obsess about how they look. They pick themselves apart, seeing flaws where none exist.”
“A lot of not so beautiful people do that as well.”
“We do tend to be our own worst critics. Usually because someone has torn down our belief in ourselves.”
She considered his comment and couldn’t argue. Hadn’t she been a wreck after the end of her involvement with Johnny?
“For the record, you have no need to pick anything. You’re perfect as you are,” he said.
“You’re saying that because you want to date me?” she ventured.
He shook his head. “Because I am dating you.”
* * *
Justin felt Riley stiffen in his arms and wondered if he should have kept his thoughts to himself. They’d had such a great time, the last thing he wanted was to put her on guard.
“Are we dating?” Riley asked.
Choosing his words carefully, he took her hand into his. “Yes, Riley, we are dating.”
She lay in his arms for a long time, not saying anything, just holding his hand and breathing softly as they swung in the hammock.
“I never meant for that to happen.”
“I did.”
She didn’t look at him, just stared upward at the sky peeking through the tree limbs. “But you’ve barely touched me the past few weeks and you sure haven’t tried to have sex with me.”
Her words were a mix of breathiness and accusation. He hugged her closer to him, wanting to calm the demons that made her doubt herself. “Not because I haven’t wanted to touch you or have sex with you. Believe me, I have.”
“Do you think you’ll still want to date me after we have sex again?”
The uncertainty in her voice had him turning onto his side to face her. “Do you think I won’t? Because that’s a pretty easy theory to disprove.”
“By our having sex?”
“Obviously.”
“Is that a proposition?”
“Is it working?”
“No.”
“Then I need to try harder.”
With that, Justin rolled so that his body covered hers. He supported his weight on his elbows and stared down at her, giving her a minute to tell him to get off her if that was what she wanted.
