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She giggles, wriggling free of my hold, and reaches for the remote on the coffee table. When she turns the TV off, the room settles into a soft darkness, lit only by the lingering bits of the fading orange sunset, the floor lamp in the corner of the room, and the twinkly lights around the patio door. Her face glows in the dim light and she gives me the shyest little grin, though she’s trying so hard to bite it back.
“Setting the mood?” I ask, my lips grazing her ear. “Or going to sleep?”
“Not sure yet,” she breathes.
“Can I make the executive decision?”
She shivers in my arms. “Okay.”
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Avery
Sweet holy hell, I’m about to have an uninterrupted, sober, take-my-time make-out session on the couch with the girl of my dreams. I’m pretty fucking psyched about it and I think she knows it by the way her breathy giggle washes over my face when I flip her onto her back and settle between her legs.
“No Vivi to interrupt my kisses?”
Claire shakes her head, fingers dancing up my neck, sinking into my hair. “Fast asleep.”
“Mmm.” Dropping my lips, I kiss along the edge of her jaw. “Nobody trying to bust through the office door?”
“Nuh-uh.”
My teeth graze her earlobe. “And you’re not gonna push me away and pretend you don’t like me?”
“That’s always a possibility,” she says on a sharp inhale. “I can never be sure.”
I chuckle, low and throaty, in her ear. “You always surprise me, that’s for sure.” I bury one hand in her hair, tugging her elastic loose, and my other hand slides under her shirt, grabbing her waist. “You are truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, Claire.”
Her fingers slip from my hair, falling to grip my biceps as she flusters, the smiling on her face turning into a frown. “I-I…I’m…not,” she finally finishes quietly, her voice laced with sadness, heartbreak.
Rocking back on my heels, I pull her onto my lap. “You are, actually. For a thousand reasons, from the freckles on your nose right down to the way you treat Vivi as if she were your own.” My nose skims across her cheekbone and I let out a soft exhale. “I’m sorry about Thursday night, Claire.”
She turns rigid on top of me. “Oh, no.” She dismisses me with the wave of her hand and then tries to scoot off my lap. I grip her hips tight, refusing to let her go anywhere, to lose this moment. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“I do, actually.”
“No, it’s…I mean…Wyatt talked to Charlee about it, so…it’s all good. Plus, it’s not my business anyway, even if she was your…date.”
“But she wasn’t my date and it is your business. I had no idea Sam was going to be there, and I declined her invitation to see her several times prior to that. I spoke to her before I left and told her I wasn’t interested.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her green eyes lifting to mine, studying me with a little crease in her forehead. “You didn’t have to do that. We’re not…I mean, you know.” The word she’s looking for is dating, and I know that, of course. The thing is, I think that’s exactly what I want to be doing with her.
“I wanted to. I only have eyes for you, Claire. You were the only woman I wanted to be with on Thursday night. And last night. And today.”
Her mouth pops open, forming a little o.
“I didn’t like seeing you so upset. Can you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” she says with the soft shake of her head. When I give her a look, one that tells her that her forgiveness is what I need, she smiles up at me. “I forgive you. Can you forgive me for not answering the door when you came to talk to me after?”
My eyes narrow playfully. “I knew you were hiding behind the door.” I sweep a kiss across her lips. “I forgive you. I also forgive you for blatantly ignoring my offer to drive you to work the next morning.”
Her eyes roll up, hands plunging into my hair with a gentle tug. “Shut up and kiss me before I kick you out.”
“Yes ma’am.”
