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“Come here.” He pulls me into his arms, and I go willingly. His embrace is warm and comforting, and I realize I’ve missed the comfort of someone to hold me. Things were off with Lyle and me for a very long time. I wanted it to work. I wanted us to work, but I’m glad that we didn’t have a baby. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m convinced the best is yet to come.
“Movie?” Declan asks.
“Definitely.” I try to move, but he keeps his hold on me. He shifts to get more comfortable and, in turn, makes me more so as well. He chooses a movie, but I can’t tell you one single thing about it. All I can think about is how good he smells and how being wrapped in his arms feels right. I barely know this man, but it’s as if we just fit.
“I should get going.” I sit up and stretch my arms over my head once the movie comes to an end.
“You okay to drive?”
“Yes.” I smile at him. “Thank you for tonight. It was unexpected and exactly what I needed.”
“You’re welcome to join us anytime.” He stands and offers me his hand, helping me stand as well. “Where are your keys?”
“Um.” I look around. “I think I left them on the table by the door.”
He nods. “I’ll go start your car.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I’ll be back.” He leans in and presses his lips to my cheek before moving toward the door. I watch him slip on some boots and a coat and grab my keys before he disappears outside.
My hand covers where his lips just rested. I shouldn’t be having these kinds of feelings. My belly shouldn’t be fluttering, and I shouldn’t be melting from a single press of his lips to my cheek, but here I am, swooning like a teenage girl and her first crush.
Shaking out of my fog, I fold the blanket I was using and place it on the back of the couch before making my way to the front door, sliding into my boots, and pulling on my coat.
When Declan walks back inside, my breath stalls in my lungs. He’s rugged and sexy and the complete opposite of any man I’ve ever dated. He reminds me of the men in the novels that I spend my days with.
Declan Kincaid is definitely book boyfriend material.
“You sure you’re good to drive?” he asks.
“Promise.” I look up at him.
“Will you text me when you get home?”
“I’m a big girl, Declan.” I will admit that his concern is nice. It’s been way too long since a man cared about me getting home safely.
“Trust me, Kens, I know. I won’t sleep until I know you’re home.”
Reaching into the pocket of my leggings, I pull my phone out. I get to the new contact screen and hand it to him. “Add your number.”
He does as I ask and taps the screen. When I hear a beep from somewhere in the house, I give him a puzzled look as he grins. “Now I have yours too.”
“Do you plan on using it?” I ask boldly.
He runs his index finger over my cheek. “You all right with that?”
“I’m only here for a couple of months. Max.”
He nods. “While you’re here.” He doesn’t say more, but he doesn’t have to. The look on his face tells me what he’s thinking.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” I know for certain I’ll fall for him. It’s too soon after my divorce to even be entertaining the idea, but I know myself, and no way can I keep feelings out of the equation. Not with a man like Declan.
He takes a step closer, and his hands land on my hips. “I think it’s the best idea I’ve ever had. I like spending time with you. I want to do more of that.”
“I don’t live here, Declan.”
“I know.” He pulls me into a hug. “I know you don’t live here, and I know that you’re only going to be here for a couple of months at most, but I also have this gut feeling that if I pass up the chance to spend more time with you, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“You have these gut feelings often?”
“No. That’s why I trust them when I do.”
“So… we hang out?”
“Yeah,” he says, pulling back. He keeps his hands on my hips as he smiles down at me. “We spend time together.”
“The ink is barely dry on my divorce papers,” I voice my earlier thoughts.
“Are you still in love with him?”
“No.” My answer is instant.
“If he were standing here asking you to take him back, would you?”
“No.”
“What if he begged?”
“No.”
“Then let’s do this. Me and you.”
“Casual.”
“Sure, as long as I’m the only man you’re spending time with.”
I laugh, but his face remains serious. “How is that casual?”
