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“That’s so.” She glanced back, remembering her purse. And that she hadn’t punched out. “Or I will be, in five minutes. Wait here,” she said, snatching her cards as she went.
He laughed again. “Waiting.”
Just in case his idea of a date meant she wouldn’t have time to go home and change, she switched her work T-shirt for a baby blue one she had in her locker and brushed her hair. She still reeked of alcohol, but a few dabs of her sultry perfume and she considered herself presentable.
Her left ankle inexplicably started twinging again as she walked back out to the bar. It hadn’t hurt in weeks. Weird.
He noticed her sudden limp and set aside his half-drunk beer. “You all right?”
“Old war injury.” At his laugh, she shrugged it off.
She was just nervous, and her body was already reacting to his nearness. She would’ve expected stomach fluttering or damp panties or even a stress headache, but she’d always been on the odd side.
“If you’re sure you’re okay.” He stood and threw some bills on the bar, and then offered her his arm. “Want to take my Jeep?”
She’d figured they’d take two cars, just in case. Which was probably silly. He’d been her friend for a long time. Whatever happened, she trusted him to get her home safely.
“Unless you’d rather not—”
“No, it’s fine. I’m just being dumb.” She smiled and tipped back her head to look at him. Since he was already looking down at her, she suddenly couldn’t breathe. Or walk.
Luckily she managed to grip his arm despite her mental fog, and he propelled her forward out the door into a soft, misty rain. “Caution isn’t dumb.”
“Maybe not, but we’re still friends. We don’t need to take separate cars.”
He stopped under a streetlight at the edge of the parking lot, seemingly oblivious to the water slicking down the sides of his face. She sure wasn’t oblivious, because she wanted to follow those twin trails down his jaw with her tongue.
Friends, remember? Very special friends.
“We both know I don’t think of you as just a friend, Kylie.” He tucked his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “I haven’t for a long time.”
That warmth was back in her chest, this time flashing into her face and all the points in between. “You’ve done a good job of being my friend this past month,” she said lightly.
“No, I haven’t. For the most part I’ve stayed away because I don’t know how to be near you and not kiss you.” He lowered his voice until it caressed her as thoroughly as if he was running his lips up her spine. “Not make love to you. In two days, you destroyed the conception of you I’d had all these years that had helped me keep my distance.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Well, that and your commitment ring.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “Dare I ask what that whole conception thing means?”
“I thought we didn’t have as much in common behind the bedroom door as we did in front of it. Which was wrong. It’s also wrong I started this conversation in the damn rain.” Shaking his head, he guided her toward his Jeep. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Both her pulse and her brain raced in tandem. As much as she ached to be alone with him, she wasn’t sure she could keep from spilling her feelings if she sat near him in candlelight. Feelings that had skipped way past caring and honed in on love the instant she’d left his Jeep on Thanksgiving and realized what she was walking away from.
Maybe everything wasn’t perfect yet—dueling therapy appointments and all—but oh, the possibilities…
She could work with possibilities.
As they approached his vehicle, she placed her hand on his arm. “Why don’t we go to my apartment? I have a big steak and baked potatoes and champagne and—” His smile made her stop babbling. “Sorry. Kylie’s cup runneth over. You know.”
“Don’t apologize. I’ve missed you.” He jingled his keys and appeared to weigh something in his mind. Then he nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good. I made reservations just in case, but I think alone’s better. I wasn’t sure you’d want to with me yet.”
“Wait, what ‘want to’ are we talking about? Because if it resides in the same dirty zone where my mind just went, the answer is yes, forever and always. Don’t forget the rubber sheets.”
His smile
turned into a full-blown laugh as he opened her door. “I meant being alone without any witnesses. But please don’t hold back your gutter thoughts on my account.”
She grinned and slipped inside the Jeep. All at once the familiar scent of his air freshener mixed with his soap wafted over her, and her eyes pricked with tears.
God, she’d missed him.
