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I let out a loud laugh, looking over at him. "You're a charmer, Johnny...but definitelynotthe kind of southern gentleman I'm used to."
He reaches out an arm and wraps it around me, pulling me close. "And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?"
He's about to kiss me, I'm sure--but a voice rings out from the front door. It's Sarah, coming out to usher us in after seeing our headlights from the front door.
"Johnny," she says with a grin. "What a surprise. And Birdie! Hey, you made it back!"
"Hey, Sarah," I say quickly. "Glad to make it back."
I get out of the car, and Sarah leads me into the house. Jake comes to the door and greets me warmly, taking me in a one-armed hug as Carina reaches for me.
"Aunt Bird, Aunt Bird!" she repeats.
"Hey, baby," I murmur, kissing her on the forehead. "Didja miss me?"
"Of course she missed her favorite aunt," Jake laughs.
"Heronlyaunt."
"But she's spending time with Uncle Johnny and Johnny is a bad boy," Carina whispers, looking at Johnny in wonder.
Johnny snickers. "You been spreading rumors about me, Hart?"
Jake laughs. "Not at all."
It feels so...perfect. So domestic. I can see Johnny and I coming home to visit Jake and Sarah in Fern Hollow, coming over for dinner every weekend...
...and I realize that just a few nights with Johnny have changed everything for me.
We've got some stuff to work out, sure.
But with time...maybe we can.
Chapter sixteen
Birdie
"So...youtwoaredating."
Sarah comes to me right away when we get a second, following me into the kitchen to badger me with questions about Johnny while he and Jake grill outside with Carina. They've both been suspicious since we arrived, and I'm starting to realize that Johnny must have told Jake more than he let on.
Either that...or it's just obvious.
Because since we got here, Johnny's been following me around the room with his gaze, casting clever glances my way and biting his lip. I'm so hungry for him that I can practically taste his lips on mine, wanting to jump his bones even though we were just together last night.
If we really do this--whenwe really do this--I don't think I'll get out of bed for days. Maybe weeks.
I wonder if my editor would let me work from home for a few months for an intimate scoop.
"We're not dating...not exactly," I tell her, crossing my arms and blushing. "But I think we will be soon."
"When did this start?" she asks, her eyebrows going up. "Johnny only just asked Jake for hispermissionto woo you--which is, can I just say, extremely antiquated--today. And I thought he was totally off-limits what with you working on the story."
"Yeah, about that," I laugh softly. "This started before I even published the story."
Sarah slaps me on the arm with a laugh, shaking her head. "Birdie Hart, you slut..."
I raise my hands. "Hey! Don't give me shit. He's hot."
