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I’d seen the guy look at her. It absolutely was not a friendly dinner for him. But I kept my mouth shut. ‘How about we take a cab?’ I asked instead. ‘You might be willing to walk all the way home, but I’m not.’
The light turned green and we walked across the street. All the while Charlie was smiling at me.
She was about to turn left after we made it to the sidewalk, but I grabbed her hand again and held onto it. She stopped and looked down at our hands, then up at me.
Her lips were slightly open, her cheeks flushed.
‘Did you know that holding someone’s hand is very intimate?’ she commented. ‘Our hands are one of the most sensitive parts of our bodies, so it makes sense that it kinda means something emotionally.’
I didn’t comment on her little piece of information. ‘I want to take you somewhere I think you’ll like,’ I said instead. Tonight things had changed for me. I was done denying that I wanted this woman in my life. Now all I had to do was show her how good we would be if she gave me another chance at her heart.
Her eyes lit up. ‘Oh, food? Please say French fries and brownies.’
I smiled. ‘No. Not food.’
19 Charlie
I got out of our rental car and just stood in front of the beautiful stone house like an idiot as William grabbed our small bags from the trunk.
‘I can’t believe I let you talk me into doing this.’
‘We need to work. What does it matter if we do it here or there. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘We’re standing in front of your family house in Montauk.’
‘Actually you’re standing in front of my family house in Montauk, I’m getting our bags.’
I looked over my shoulder at William and gave him my slightly hostile look and caught him grinning.
‘Stop that. You don’t get to smile.’ Right that minute Pepperoni stuck his nose out from the window and nudged my arm. ‘Hello, big baby, did you finally wake up?’ I held his face in my hands and dropped a big kiss on his nose and got a wet one in return. ‘You’re so handsome after you wake up,’ I whispered and smiled when he gave me another kiss on my cheek.
Still smiling widely, I turned to William and found him quietly studying me. ‘I can get my own bags.’
‘You don’t have to do anything when I’m here. I got you. You get Pepp.’
Feeling a little self-conscious, I looked away and opened Pepperoni’s door to grab his leash. I got him out and closed the door. When I turned back Pepperoni was sitting right in front of me, almost on my feet, and William was standing right next to me with our bags.
I tried not to act too skittish, but since the night before and his little performance at the restaurant, I was struggling to meet his gaze. Going out on a date with Ralph had been a clear mistake when it was pretty obvious I was starting to feel… okay, not starting to, but already feeling attracted to William.
I cleared my throat and kept looking at the house with the red door. ‘You’re sure they’ll be okay with Pepperoni being here? Did you even ask? He seems to be okay with kids, but I’m not sure. Do they know I’m coming too?’
‘He is fine. They’ll love him. Relax.’
I watched as he put his hand on Pepperoni’s head and gave him a scratch that had Pepperoni rolling his head up just so he could look at William with admiration and his tongue hanging out. Hopefully that’s not how I looked whenever he touched me.
‘Relax, he says,’ I muttered under my breath.
Then I felt his hand on the small of my back and my spine straightened. I gave him a sideways look, but I couldn’t read his expression. All of a sudden he pulled his hand back, tugged Pepperoni’s leash from my hand and started walking towards the house. I just stood there like an idiot, trying to understand what was going on. Why even put your hand on my back if you’re gonna pull it away like that? Why put it on my back in the first place? Did he not realize how my heart skipped a beat whenever he casually touched me like it was nothing?
Still walking, he looked over his shoulder. ‘Are you coming or are you gonna stand there?’
Nope. He did not understand what he did to me.
I ignored his amused expression and sighed before following him.
The second we entered the house, the chatter and the kids’ screams hit us in all its glory.
Pepperoni froze between me and William for a second, ears pricked. Then he started wagging his tail as two girls came running around the corner. The one who was behind stopped the minute she noticed William and changed course to run towards us.
