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He grinned. “Whatever you’re having.”
She nodded and walked past him into the kitchen.
“Is there a bathroom?” He lifted his arms. “I need to wash my hands.”
“Yeah, first door on the left.”
Kennedy heard his steps down the hallway and her stomach flipped. How was it possible that even Seb’s footsteps were sexy?
She pulled out the bottle of merlot she’d picked up at the grocery store, the same trip that she’d seen Seb and then he’d disappeared. By the time she’d poured two glasses Chunks had settled in his dog bed and Seb had returned from the bathroom. She handed him his glass and they lowered down onto the couch. They sat in silence for a moment and Kennedy told herself not to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue all night. She knew if she did that, it could ruin whatever time she had with him.
The problem was, with Seb, she was unable to play it cool. She couldn’t hide herself from him. All she could do was be herself. And herself wanted to know something.
She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“The past week, I thought I saw you around town a few times but then you just vanished. Did you see me at the gas station or the grocery store?”
He didn’t respond right away. Instead, he took a sip of his wine. When he set the glass back down on the coffee table, he looked her straight in the eye. His gaze stole the breath from her lungs. “Yes. I’ve been avoiding you.”
Wow. Kennedy had always wanted men to be honest with her, but this level of honesty was not something she was expecting.
“Why?” she asked, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs as his head dropped and he ran his hands through his hair. “Are you sure you want to know?”
No. She wasn’t. But now that he’d said that, shehadto know.
“Yes.”
He lifted his head and turned to look at her. The intensity in his stare pinned her in place. Her heart was beating so loudly in her chest she wondered if he could hear it.
“I was avoiding you because I don’t trust myself around you.”
“You don’t?” she managed to breathe out.
His jaw ticked. “No. I should go.”
He stood to leave. He made it to the door before she stood too. She didn’t want him to go but she felt like if she asked him to stay it would be playing with fire. She knew if she did that she’d get burned. Scorched. But apparently, she was a moth because she was heading straight for the flame.
“Don’t go.”
14
Seb staredat his hand on the doorknob. He wanted to stay there, with Kennedy, more than he wanted his next breath. His brain was screaming at him to pull her into his arms and never let her go. But he knew the right thing to do would be to leave. There was no future here, and he knew that’s what she was looking for.
That’s what he kept telling himself. Over and over. That knowledge was not making it any easier for him to walk out the door. He looked down at the floor, hoping that if he wasn’t looking at her it would make his exit easier.
“Seb…?” Kennedy’s voice was laced with raw vulnerability.
He looked over his shoulder and when he saw the uncertainty swimming in her huge blue-green eyes his chest constricted. The last thing he’d ever want was for her to think he was rejecting her.
His hand dropped to his side and he turned to face her. “Since the first second I saw you, I’ve wanted you. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I’ve never felt this kind of pull to anyone in my life.”
Kennedy stared at him as she inhaled a shallow breath. The air between them crackled with electricity. The sexual tension was back and this time it felt like a rubber band that was about to snap. It had been stretched to its absolute limit.
Finally, when he didn’t continue, she inhaled a shaky breath. “Why do I feel like there is a but coming?”
