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“Smartass.”
He’s looking into my eyes, and I feel my heart flutter, which makes me giggle. There’s so much I want to know about him and so many questions I have. I don’t even know where to begin. He’s intriguing and mysterious, and every question I have leads to another. And another. And another. I’m pretty sure I could spend my entire life learning about him and still have yet more questions to ask.
“Come on. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” he presses.
“A lot of things,” I reply. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“Pick a place.”
I smile softly. “All right. Well, I was thinking about the fact that there was a time in my life where I would have just fainted on the spot if I saw a headless corpse,” I say. “And yet now, I can watch you dress one in your clothes, and it barely fazes me. I’m not sure what that says about me.”
“I don’t think it really says anything about you,” he offers. “If it says anything, I tend to think it says that you’ve had your eyes opened to the world around you and that you’ve learned how to adapt to it.”
I laugh softly. “That’s certainly one interpretation. It certainly puts me in a better light than I think I deserve.”
“That’s not true. You deserve to be in a good light. You’re a good person, Molly,” he replies. “You’re the best person I’ve ever known. And just because you’ve learned how to roll with the punches, even in a horrible situation, doesn’t mean you’re not. It means you’ve seen some things. And you’ve not only survived, but you’ve learned how to cope with those things.”
I listen to his words and let them sink in for a minute. “You know, you really have a way of putting things. You have a way of making me think and see things differently.”
“Well, I’m thinking about a career change.”
“Yeah? What are you thinking about doing?”
“Oh, a motivational speaker.”
My laughter is sharp and hysterical. “You are hilarious.”
“It’s from my time as a stand-up comic.”
“You used to be a comic?”
“No,” he replies, totally deadpan, which makes me laugh harder.
I love the way he makes me laugh. And he’s able to do it without even trying. It’s one of the many, many things I appreciate about him.
“Hawk, when you said you wanted to explore things between us… did you mean it?” I ask, cringing at the question that slipped out of my mouth. “That wasn’t like a heat of the moment, fueled by passion thing?”
He nods. “Of course I meant it. The heat of the moment and the passion thing had nothing to do with it,” he says. “Molly, I know it’s insane, but I care about you. A lot. You’re the only woman I’ve ever been with that I didn’t want to run away from. Instead, I find myself wanting to run toward you. You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever known, and this is going to sound nuts, so I’m sorry in advance, but I want to build a life with you.”
I let out a small breath of relief and a trembling smile crosses my lips. “Really? Do you really mean that?”
“Every word of it.”
I lay my hand gently on his cheek and feel my heart racing. Hawk leans forward and gives me a gentle kiss.
“I’m sorry if I sound like a stupid, insecure teenage girl,” I tell him. “I just… I guess I’m a stupid, insecure, no longer a twenty-something girl. I guess I sometimes just need to hear that.”
Hawk’s smile is soft but sincere. “I will tell you that as often as you need to hear it.”
“You are an amazing man.”
He gives me a smile and nods. “Yeah. I kind of am, huh?”
We both laugh like lunatics, and he pulls me to him, placing a fiery kiss on my lips. I feel him stirring and know exactly where I want this kiss to lead.
* * *
“And I’ll have the chicken and waffles,” Hawk says, handing the menu back to the waitress with a smile.
