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“Thank you.” I take in his suit. I think this one is new. It’s a tighter, slimmer fit and shows off how broad he is and how strong his thighs are. “Same to you.”
I come up alongside him, and he takes my chin in his hand and bends down, placing a kiss on my lips. I’ll never tire of that. And this is where lines are blurring lately. Used to be that we’d only be affectionate when and if we were going to sleep together. But for the past month, he’ll kiss me goodbye when I leave in the morning or come up behind me if I’m cooking and hug me just to do it, not because it’s going to lead anywhere. And now he’s being affectionate in front of his friends. What does that mean? Hopefully after tonight, it will all be cleared up in my mind.
“Now you two get going. We have it all taken care of.” Bryce turns around. “Where is the cutie anyway?” She finds Clover on the floor on her new play mat and rushes over to her, falling to her knees right before she reaches the baby.
“Damn, I thought she was going to fall on top of her,” Damon says, staring at me with an expression to say maybe this is a bad idea.
“I have to get my heels.” I go into the other bedroom where my clothes are still housed. We don’t share a closet or a dresser, but that doesn’t seem weird given all the square footage. So what if nothing of mine is in his room?
I slip into my heels and laugh when I notice Clover’s pajamas set out for them with step-by-step instructions on how bedtime works.
“Let’s go,” I say when I leave the room, eager to get out of here.
Damon is watching Miles and Bryce interact with Clover. His hands are in his pockets and his jaw is clenched, his throat tense.
I come up next to him. “Are you ready?”
He looks down at me, and a smile forms on his lips. “Yeah. The sooner we’re gone, the sooner this experiment is over.”
“My mom couldn’t babysit, and it’s good experience for them. They’re our friends and love her just as much as we do.”
“Doubtful.” He grabs my jacket from the coat hook, and I slide my arms into it.
“Have fun, you two.” Bryce waves with the clear impression she hopes for good news when we return.
I’m not looking for a ring or anything, but a declaration that he has feelings for me and wants to officially be in a relationship would be nice.
We say goodbye to Clover and head out to where a car is waiting for us at the curb. The driver gets out and opens the door for us. I slide in first, and Damon joins me, his thigh pressing against mine.
“Where are we going?”
He leans in close, his nose running up and down my jawline, inhaling my scent. “It’s a surprise. You smell amazing, by the way.”
Damon has no idea how intoxicating he is when he does things like that. He slides his hand in mine, running his thumb over my knuckles. I feel some scabs and scrapes on his hand from the last few games.
“How are your hands?” I ask.
He stares at our interlocked fingers. “Better.”
We don’t have to drive too long before the car stops in front of an expensive-looking restaurant. Damon files out first and holds his hand out to help me from the car. I step out, and he wraps his arm around my waist, holding me to him as if I’m his. No man has ever made me feel the way he does.
I’m not worried about the press photographing us. I think we’re old news now. After they got enough pictures of Damon with Clover, they seemed to have moved on to more interesting things—like the football star whose brother is in trouble with the law.
When we get inside, he tells the hostess his last name, and it doesn’t even bother me when her eyes take him all the way in. I’m at his side. I’m the one he wants. Now I’m getting turned on thinking about that.
She shows us to a small table for two tucked away in a dark corner. There’s a box sitting on my seat when we arrive, and I look at it.
Damon is quick to pick it up, waiting for me to sit before placing it in my lap. “It’s a gift.”
“I do love gifts. But it’s not my birthday.”
“Just something I wanted to give you.” He folds himself into the seat across from me. “Go ahead and open it.”
I suck in a deep breath to keep my excitement and nerves at bay, then untie the blue bow on top and lift off the top of the box, smiling immediately. It’s a Grizzlies jersey with the number twenty-three on it. I pick it up and turn it around to see SISKA over his number.
“Bryce wears Miles’s, and Ellery wears Cooper’s. You should wear mine.”
I smile and clasp it to my chest. “Thank you. I’ll wear it this weekend.”
