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I wanted all of Dare, but right then, it felt too good to stop.
Finally, he pulled away. “So, you’re not mad then?”
“I should be. And if you do anything like that again, I’ll…do something.”
That little smirk came out again. “Oh, yeah? Like what?”
“I don’t know, but it won’t be good.”
He hooked his arm around my neck and urged me forward with a kiss to my temple. “I’m willing to risk it.”
I elbowed him in the gut. “Excuse me?”
“No, I won’t go into your phone. But I am kind of curious what your version of vengeance is.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
“I’m a little masochistic it seems.” He dropped his arm and twisted our fingers together as he drew me up the stairs to The Cove. “Hungry?”
I smiled. “Starving.”
And not just for food.
Sixteen
My heart raced as we walked through the restaurant. It was just past the dinner rush and moving into the quiet murmurs of cocktail-fueled pickups. I’d arranged for a table toward the back by the window. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, but Kelsey wasn’t just a fling.
Not anymore.
Sitting in the car with her had been far more normal than I’d expected. No shouting and accusations, no epic levels of drama. I’d been braced for them. Nothing had ever been easy with Katherine, or with a lot of the women in my past.
But with Kelsey, everything seemed bigger and quieter at the same time. Part of me wanted to turn around, to run and close off the feelings she was dragging out of me. She didn’t demand a damn thing and she could have—should have. Even with the unknown paternity floating in the air like smoke, she didn’t ask for anything more than my time.
Maybe that was why I wanted to grab onto her. To never let go.
I’d done what was right when I’d gotten Katherine pregnant. But it had never felt right. Even standing at the altar of the small church my parents belonged to had been hot and uncomfortable. Seeing her waiting for me at the end of the aisle had reinforced my sense of duty and not much else.
None of the same feelings rolled through me when it came to Kelsey. Being responsible was only a small part of the amalgam of emotions battling for space inside me. Peace, urgent need, and the desire to make her mine were all battling for control.
In the car, she’d stirred that feeling of rightness inside me. But in such a short time, how could she offer me the peace I’d been searching for?
It didn’t make sense.
When we sat down, she smiled up at the waiter and ordered water with extra lime. So very Kelsey. Simple with a side of tart. Just like her distractible mouth.
“Whatever you have on tap is fine for me,” I murmured. I didn’t even care about the beer. I just wanted the guy to scram.
Before I could even think about it, words were tumbling out of my mouth. “Marry me, Kelsey.”
“What?” Her golden brown eyes went huge. “We didn’t even order.”
I blinked. “That’s your answer?”
“No. I mean, of course not.”
“No?”
She fumbled across the table for my hand, but the damn waiter was already heading back with our drinks. I growled and pulled my hands under the table to fist them on my legs.
