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“Last-minute decision. Forgive me?”
She chuckled and gave my cheek a smack. “When you tell me what’s going on with the two of you, I might.” Shoving me away, she grabbed Steven’s leash and hooked it onto his collar. Iris took it from her, clearly comfortable with being in charge of him. “Have fun, you three. Wear him out so he stops giving me filthy looks while I’m working instead of playing with him.”
Iris waved and ran out the door like her arse was on fire. I gave chase, following her little fire arse down the hall to the elevator. She slid me a dirty look after she pressed the button.
“I almost feel like you sprung a meet-the-parents on me.”
I held up my hands in a show of innocence. “That wasn’t my intention, honestly. If I could have snuck Steven out of there, I would have.”
“Mmhmm.” Her eyes were narrowed, but her lips were kicked up in the corners and her hand rested on the top of Steven’s head. I’d say I wasn’t in a terrible amount of trouble.
“Although…” I took my phone from my pocket, pretending to check the time, “Aileen’s probably on the phone with my ma right about now, telling her all about the tatted-up girl with gorgeous tits who’s corrupting her son.”
Iris’s cheeks flushed, even as she scoffed. “That’s fine. I wouldn’t want her to know it’s her debauched son who’s actually corrupting me. Some things a mother should never find out.”
Gripping her by the back of the neck, I claimed her pillowy mouth. I only had a second to grab a taste, but it was a second I wasn’t wasting. The elevator doors opened too soon, pulling us apart once again.
The walk to the park went quick, Iris laughing most of the way at Steven being Steven. Once we arrived at the gated-off area, she let him off his leash to run wild.
With my hand on her back, I guided her to a bench to watch our borrowed dog show off to the other dogs. Every ounce of tension eased from my body as the minutes ticked by. Iris crossed her legs so her calf aligned with mine and leaned into me, her shoulder tucked under my arm.
“You were right. This is what I needed.”
“Mmm.” I dragged my thumb up and down her arm.
“I heard the gloat in that ‘mmm,’ but I’m not the least bit mad.” Steven trotted over to check in on us, and after a pat, he ran off again. “Have you ever had a dog, Ronan?”
“I have. Not since I lived with my parents, but I grew up with at least one dog in the house. It’s still hard to get used to coming home to utter silence.”
“I would think you liked utter silence.”
I turned to her, taken aback for the hundredth time since we met by how utterly beautiful she was. No makeup, hair in a messy ponytail, hoodie and baggie sweats, it shouldn’t have done anything for me, but it did. Especially sitting here, where we first met. She’d looked just like this: soft, approachable, but sexy all the same.
“You would be thinking wrong. I might be quiet, but you’ve now met my best friend and surrogate aunt, plus my favorite dog. I’m a big believer in opposites attracting.”
She flipped my tie on the tip of her finger. “You couldn’t get more opposite than us.”
I caught her hand. “In some ways that’s true, but we’re alike too.”
Her grin spread wide while her eyes hooded. “’Cause we’re both dirty fuckers?”
“Mmm. Stop looking at me that way in the middle of a public park.”
“What way?” Her smile was naughty, like she was calling my bluff.
Cupping her face, I darted forward and licked the little gap between her front teeth, nipping her bottom lip on the way back. Iris’s mouth fell open in surprise, then she giggled and pushed my forehead.
“Did you just lick my teeth?”
“The gap. I licked the gap. It’s distracting me.”
Her tongue prodded the little space. “I had braces twice. Both times, the gap came back, so I gave up and accepted it as part of me.”
“Your teeth are as stubborn as the rest of you.”
“Maybe.” Her lips were curved into a pleased smile. Shelikedmy observation of her. Which was good, because I had become her stalker. She’d signed a contract allowing me to do so, but I knew I’d taken things five steps too far. “Saul Goodman suggested I get veneers when we signed. I let him make me a blonde but fucking with my teeth was where I drew the line.”
I picked up a lock of her silky hair. “Raven suits you, as does the gap.”
