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I grinned. “Probably because we’re all rich enough to buy an unlimited number of blankets or hire somebody else to make them. But I am available, my morning is currently free, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”
She sighed. “That’s so sweet, but I’m on my last one. I’m out of material until I order some or get to a fabric store.”
Sweet?I balked a little at the idea that Kylie thought I was sweet.
If she only knew what I was thinking most of the time when I looked at her, I doubted she’d feel the same way.
“So, what are your plans for the day?” I asked, hoping she had none.
I wanted to spend the day with her, do something to thank her for being there for me last night.
She nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment before she answered, “I should probably head back to Newport and check on my place. There isn’t much I can’t do remotely for work now that I’m a partner. Someone is in the office doing my old job, but I haven’t been back home for a month.” Kylie paused before adding, “Honestly, I don’t think there’s really any reason I need to be here anymore, Dylan. You don’t need a babysitter. I trust you.”
I wasn’t sure how those words could be devastating and transcendent at the same time, but she’d managed it.
Yes, I’d wanted to hear her say that she trusted me. In fact, gaining her trust had been my obsession for a month now. However, the leaving part of her conversation nearly gutted me. “I definitely don’t need a babysitter,” I agreed. “So stay just because you want to then. It’s only two weeks until you leave for England.”
“Why?” she asked. “There’s no reason for me to be here, and if I don’t have to work remotely, I could be in the office every day. There really is no reason for me to be living here with you.”
“There’s every reason,” I said, hating the slightly needy note in my gruff tone. “I want you here, Kylie. Every damn moment you’ve been here with me has been an enormous reprieve from being alone with my own thoughts. I don’t think you understand how much your presence here has helped me. I’ve even gotten somewhat fond of that beast spread out on the kitchen floor.” I nodded at Jake. “Don’t go. Not…yet.”
Damn.It wasn’t like I didn’t know that I sounded pathetic and that needing Kylie went against everything I’d thought I wanted for the last two years, but right now, none of that mattered.
She stood, folded the blanket, and put it in a vacant chair with several others. “I can stay if you think it helps to have someone around,” she agreed. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to put up with me being here all the time. It’s not like we couldn’t still meet up and talk on the phone. Everything I said when I first got here about this not being your home was complete bullshit. Damian would never do anything to hurt you, and this is your home. I respect everything you’re doing to get your life back.”
“Technically, the place belongs to Lancaster International,” I clarified. “And Damian can threaten to cut me off because I gave him power of attorney all he wants. It would never stand if I legally challenged him, but I don’t think it will ever come to that. If Damian decided he never wanted to nullify that power of attorney, I’d give up my share of Lancaster before I’d drag my own brother through a lawsuit. I already lost track of how important my family is to me. I don’t plan on doing it again. Damian stood by me, even when he probably should have given up on me. I could hardly blame him for finally dumping me after what happened with Nicole.”
Kylie moved closer to me as she said, “No guilt, remember? Damian and Nic aren’t the types to hold a grudge, and they have no clue what you went through. Give yourself a second chance. You deserve it, Dylan.”
Without thinking about my actions, I reached out, wrapped my arm around her waist, and pulled her closer, until her ass was against the island. I pinned her in as I put my hands on the counter on each side of her body. “How can you be so bloody certain that I’m actually worthy of starting all over again? I think you’re perfectly aware of every asinine thing I’ve ever done.”
My damn heart nearly stopped as she wrapped her arms around my neck, and she answered, “Aside from the orgy photo, I think accusing the prime minister of being a communist was probably one of the most original things you did.”
“Bloody hell! How did you find out about that?”
She smirked. “Nic told me. You were drunk. What else can you do but laugh it off? I drank too much tequila once and danced on a table in the middle of a crowded bar. Once I got over the mortification when I was sober, it was kind of amusing. Lord knows that Nicole and Macy never let me forget about it, even though it happened a long time ago.”
“Interesting,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her waist. “So you have a wild side?”
“I can’t party like that anymore. It didn’t take me long to realize that tequila and I couldn’t be friends.”
I hated the thought of Kylie being that lost, at any point in her life, or that she’d ever been in so much pain that she’d tried to drink it away as I had.
I threaded my hand through her hair and tilted her head up. “I wish I’d been there for you back then, sweetheart.”
She blinked as those beautiful eyes continued to stay trained on my face, and she stroked a gentle palm over my jaw. “I think I like things exactly the way they are right now.”
“Did I ever thank you for what you did last night?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “Not necessary.”
My entire being was focused on her and exactly how I was going to let her go without taking exactly what I wanted right now. “I think you’re the most beautiful, incredible woman I’ve ever met,” I told her honestly. “Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you right now? But it’s your move this time since I took way too many liberties the first day we met, and I happen to really like my balls intact.”
“I have absolutely no desire to knee you in the balls again,” she said breathlessly. “But I do want you to kiss me, Dylan.”
I didn’t hesitate for a single second in case she decided to change her mind.
The second my lips locked with hers, I felt like I’d never get enough.
